*HP ENVY 14 (1XXX series) Owners Lounge, Part 1*

How large is the HP recovery partition and does it really do anything that a reinstall through the HP recovery disks doesn't?

 

12 to 14GB on the 15 depending on OS version and software 'extras'. Once you make the recovery discs the you have the whole partition saved and you can delete it. Caution; you can only make one set of the discs and they are copy protected so take care of them...

 

Speaking of which, can anyone recommend a pack of burnable, non-DL DVDs I can use? I'd rather not spend too much as I just want to create a set of factory restore disks and I already have a clean install DVD for Windows. I crave redundancy.

 

What? You can't make a duplicate even by copying the DVD's? That's stupid. I may just do a drive image in addition to the backup if that will even work.

I'm sure any brand will work fine. Just buy a ten pack, you shouldn't need more than a few though, but just in case one DVD fails the recovery backup. Like Dell, I'm assuming it will validate the DVD.

 

I have an aftermarket X25-M G2 160GB, so I just take the factory HDD out and store it for safe keeping. Sure, it's a waste of a perfectly good drive, but at least if I decide to return the thing I can just pop the original drive back in and ship it away.

I agree though, it's stupid to only let you make one copy of the discs. Sounds like a way to weasel additional customer support $$$ out of customers.

 

My problem is I got the 256GB SSD. Not exactly going to "pop that out" and store it. lol.

I have done that with drives in the past though, because either I already had a hard drive I wanted to use or was cheaper to buy something better than what they offered.

 

Ok, after much ado, I ordered tonight

# Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
# Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-450M Dual Core processor (2.40GHz, 3MB L3 Cache)with Turbo Boost up to 2.66 GHz
# 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
# 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection (which will promptly be replaced)
# 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5650 switchable graphics - For Dual Core Processors
# 14.5" diagonal HD+ HP Radiance Infinity LED Display (1600x900)
# SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
# HP TrueVision HD Webcam + Dual Digital Integrated Microphones
# Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth
# Corel(R) PaintShop Photo(TM) Pro X3 + Corel(R) VideoStudio(R) Pro X3
# Full-size island-style backlit keyboard
# 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
# Microsoft(R) Office Starter 2010
# FREE Upgrade to Computrace LoJack for Laptops, Four Years from One Year

Build date: 23rd


now.... to wait.

Edit: SOMEOFADAMNIT
I can't believe I missed the 30% BCB

Edit 2.0: this thread moves too fast. Has anyone stateside received their envy yet?

 

no one's gotten it stateside yet.


in a day or two a couple of the 160gig SSD ones are supposed to arrive.

maybe.

 

Where, exactly?

 

several pages back now.

the warnings were well.

"Oh crap I didn't copy the settings that HP customized for the touchpad and now it sucks horribly"

and

"Oh. well...that's not good I screwed up installing some things"


but I mean if you've clean installed an OS before it shouldn't be any different beyond the (supposed) customizations HP makes to the touchpad stuff.


the also released new touchpad drivers that may or may not be on the envy 14 by default (if not install the newer ones).

the new ones are the same version as the new ones on the envy17 that fix several touchpad issues (though they were released on 6/18 not 7/9. They have the same version number)

 

That happened to me with my Envy 15. The original factory configuration (bloatware aside) was great - the touch pad was the best I had every used, aside from a friend's MBP 13. When I pulled out the factory drive and installed my SSD (fresh OS install), I reinstalled all of the drivers, and the touch pad just plain sucked. It would skip all over the place and wouldn't allow me to click and drag an item like I could previously.

I tried two different drivers (including the latest) and both behaved the same way. I tried tweaking some settings in the Synaptics device manager, and while it did get a bit better, it was never up to par with the original installation. Sadly, I never checked the original driver version or settings.

 

yeah. Those horror stories are why I'm even considering looking at the touchpad stuff.

 

You know you have options, right? Hint, hint, wink, wink. See other thread to see what others have done.

It's slowed considerably since I split them up. The other one moves much faster.

Should see a few arrivals starting tomorrow. I'll post up anything pertinent on the front page.

 

Start at post 5859 and read a few pages forward from there for a few fine points. However, Magusdraco summed it up pretty nicely above.

 

Screen shots all the way, baby!

 

Mod, do you mind deleting posts instead of striking them out? The volume of new posts on this thread (even after the new rules) has turned our German friends off from posting more.

 

I will later on. I did that to serve as an example of what not to post. Not everyone will read the first page or click the thread rules link.
(BTW I have been erasing posts all day at my discretion. You can't tell from your end as it leaves no trace for posters to see. Only mods.)

Don't worry about our German friends. They'll return in good time.

Plus our American friends will have their Envy in their hands by this weekend if not sooner. Which of course will mean a significant increase in posts and thread speed. This is a very popular notebook due to its size, specs and design.

My goal in moderating this thread is not to please everyone, but to please most everyone.

 

If this was only true! lol

 

Don't forget us Canadian friends jumping through hoops!

 

The Canadians are our friends and neighbors.

 

When I get my laptop Thursday is anyone expecting certain things to be said other than my impressions?

 

I expect you to try to update the graphics drivers and come back with the results. i5 or i7.


and if they do update I also expect you to use gpuz or something to make sure it's the graphics driver itself that updated too not just the Catalyst control center.

keep getting mixed signals from the dv6t guys

 

Something along the lines of State of the Union address is pretty much the general expectation....don't disappoint!

 

Bah! Blame Canada!

 

Nevermind.

It seems the customs officials want to have their way with my package before hand..

 

Seriously, just start with your impressions. I wouldn't do any driver updates until you are familiar with the system. You have 21 days to see if you are satsified with the system.

Keep in mind you are under NO obligation to report anything or do anything. It's purely a courtesy to others. You can answer questions at your leisure. There will be plenty of folk to field questions in the coming days. So don't feel pressured to contribute to the community.

 

Question: I read somewhere that the 256 gb ssd is from western digital. Is this proven or speculation?

 

well yeah. True what 2.0 said.


you don't HAVE to do anything we tell you.

'cause I'll be doing the graphics driver thing for you the moment it's in my hands anyway (well...ok no. I'll be installing the crap out of the starcraft 2 beta)

 

Both, believe it or not. With HP, you say odds are it's...

 

Well I am getting mine on friday, and I will be posting gaming related things. I'll be testing WoW, Bad Company 2, Team Fortress 2, CoD:MW2, and SC2 beta. I am very interested in how hot the 5650 will get while gaming, so I'll be posting temps for sure.

 

yeah. We will need to keep in mind that sc2 beta phase 2 isn't as optimized as phase 1 (a whole lot of debugging code is going on in the background)

edit: that being said today's patch supposedly fixed some of the performance sapping that the debugging code was doing

 

So how does one ensure that doing a clean install getting all of hp's optimizations back? Is there anything else other than touchpad driver/settings that are needed for a clean install?

 

A couple of people who ordered the 256 are expecting to receive their e14 this week, so we should have 100% confirmation soon.

 

Im loving SCII beta 2 been playing since teh minuet the servers went back up

Edit: To keep this relevant... Ill be testing Fallout 3, Oblivion, Guildwars, Resident Evil 5, Bioshock 2, Mass Effect 2, Splinter Cell Conviction, Assassins Creed II, SCII and GTA4. Also testing the multitasking capibilities and rendering capabilities, with Adobe After Effects, Premire Pro, and Photoshop CS5 when I get my E14.

 

I love you. WoW and TF2 are the 2 main games i was curious about.
^<<<<<<<<<<<
Did i mention....^

 

Ok, take a deep breath and relax before you read any further....................

inhale.........

exahale.......

inhale.........

No read fully before you get to upset

1) The touchpad settings suck out of the box from HP. You need to tweak them significantly to personalize it to your liking.

2) When you do a clean install you lose all the factory settings but when you reninstakll the driver you get all the carappy default settings back.

3) Once you get it to how you like it and upgrade to a new driver... Good news; all your settings carry over the way you had them Bad news; even synaptics recommends uninstalling previous drivers before you update to new versions due to possible conflicts, so you lose your settings....

4) Good news; This is the best PC touchpad ever and I beginning to even like it better than the MBP. Yes it's that good anf more customizable..

Seriously quit worrying about it. The synaptics control panel is very easy to access via the 'show hidden icons' arrow (next to battery indicator) just open and select change settings. initial setup is a little tedious do to all the options but there are some great instructions as well as interactive learning / testing options and special practice screens within setup, so you can see what different changes do. Once you've figured out how you like it the reetting it up is simple and takes me less than a minute-- No screen shots required

All the Envy's use the same drivers for the touchpads and sometimes there are even newer drivers that pop up before HP updates there site... Ooooh.....scary thought, I know

Edit: More good news is that HP has not 'locked out' using AMD's new monthly driver update program, I am currently running 10.6 and it should be no problem for the 5650. That being said it is strongly advised to fully uninstall ALL your previous ATI/AMD drivers and software before updating to a new package (using the ATI install manager first) and then I recommend using a free app called driver cleaner which will find and remove about 100 hidden ATI/AMD files missed by the uninstaller. Then install the new drvers from the MS VGA driver. The trickiest part on the first update will be to turn off the HP auto driver update and / or windows update or you may find that it keeps reinstalling the original drivers from SWsetup or the recovery partition or online, it will think that whatever version HP has listed as current shoul d be 'the most recent driver for your system'.

 

Do you know where I can get a beta key for sc2

Thank You

 

hey whats the fastest i5 out there? Does the envy 14 have it? Switchable graphics are nice and really useful. Will i5 handle everything I throw at it? Including high tech scientific/engineering computation, research, data manipulation/analysis and all that stuff?

 

i5-540m is fastest right now according to Intel's list of CPU's:

Intel® Core? i5 Mobile Processor Family

All mobile i3's and i5's contain integrated GPU's. Quad core i7's do not.

 

Yes it will just fine.

 

as for that fastest i5 (540m) that's not an option for the CTO.

it IS supported by the bios if you want to replace it yourself ('course you void your warranty if you don't buy genuine HP parts so...)

warranty may also get voided if you don't do it with the help of some authorized tech...not so clear on that one. You'd have to talk to HP

 

Actually the fastest mobile i5 is the i7 620M and soon to be i7 640M....

Yeah I know and I don't want to hear it.... it's intels screwy part numbering system not mine.... Those 2 are i5's with graphics just the wrong prefix....There are actually a whole family of i7 - 6xx's coming soon even some low power options. I may get one to test in one of our 15's.

 

really? wow, thats good to hear

one thing i hate about synaptics is that stupid horizonal and vertical scrolling icon that replaces the cursor. is there anyway to disable that to make things look more fluid?

 

Oh so the envy 14 doesn't come with an i5 540m?

Oh so does it perform better then the quads or maybe the hexacores? Does it have more power then infinity (dividing by zero)?

DERP DERP DERP

wow

 

Why does the i7 not have integrated graphics?

 

If you mean that little bar with the arrow on either side it is still their, never bothers me since it's so small on the 1080p screen and I never actually look at it since the pad is so good and intuitive you just use it without having to look when scrolling...

 

They have stopped giving them out me thinks

The game is going to be released in less then 2 weeks anyways

 

Where I live if you pre order the game at Game Stop you get the beta version for free.

 

The i7 Quad cores do not have graphics the i7 Dual cores do have the IGP. The quads are made with a larger size process and use much more power (like 45W and up) so you need an external card...

Regarding SC2, if you have to buy the game then getting the beta key is not really 'free' .....

 

Friend just gave me one of his beta-linked accounts. Downloading SC2 over night when I go to bed.