*HP ENVY 17 & 17 3D (1XXX series) Owners Lounge*

I have not yet found an after-market vendor for the bracket and cable. For now, it seems that you must go to HP for their drive kit, which includes bracket and cable for the Primary and Secondary drives. Both bracket and cable differ for the Envy 17 when comparing the Primary and Secondary drives.

The HP part store is here: HP Parts Store - HP Computer Parts - HP Printer Parts - Compaq Parts

See Post #1439 on page 144 of this forum for a picture and a link to more pictures:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-owners-lounge-forum/484905-official-hp-envy-17-owners-lounge-144.html

The kit costs $88.35 (US), plus shipping.

 

So, my laptop is sitting in Newark, NJ. I called Fedex about picking up the package myself. I mean, if I have to go to Newark to get it, it's only 40 minutes away and I have nothing better to do. If they bring to the local distribution center, it's like 10 minutes away.

Anyway, they said that HP requested that they make at least one delivery attempt, which means that I would get it on Tuesday. Problem, cause no one might be home on Tuesday due to my health reasons. Anyway to let Fedex just let me pick up the package?

 

Some people have posted a link to hp where you can purchase the bracket but it only comes in a pair I believe and it's somewhere around $80! Look a few pages back and you should findit. Too much in my opinion, I just got the 2 320GB drives and plan to replace one with an 80GB SSD.

 

For the Envy, is the blu-ray drive slot-loading or is it the annoying take-out-and-put-in kind of loading thing? I know the DVD drive is...but I'm not sure about the blu-ray drive
Would really help, thanks guys!

 

It is a slot loading drive...

 

Looks like I made out well with shipping times. I placed my order on June 2, it shipped on the 9th. The next day it arrived in Alaska and that night went to Indianapolis and to Raleigh. It made it to my door by 8:30AM.

Less than 36 hours from shipment in Shanghai to my door - that's really quick!

I'm absolutely loving this system so far.

One note on buzzing noises that I have heard some people mention. Part of that appears to be the charging circuit itself. I noticed that when I plugged in my spare battery, and then plugged in the AC adapter that I heard a little buzzing within a few seconds pn plugging the adapter into the notebook. Note that I had not turned on the laptop yet.

In any case, the buzzing is so minor that I don't even hear it in normal operation. I only noticed it because I was in a very quiet room and the laptop was shut off so it the only source of sound in the room.

 

Wow, lucky you! That was fast! I hope mine is built and shipped that quickly.

 

Does anyone know if this Intel 80 Gb SSD will work in the envy 17?

 

The 160 GB SSD is back!
Unfortunately, they do not yet offer the HDD+SSD Combo, but hopefully it will be there in two weeks, when I will purchase it

 

Page requested not found. But im assuming its the X25-M. I sure hope it works as i already ordered mine from newegg and am eagerly awaiting my Envy to put it in. Paid about $220 for it, so it BETTER work! lol

 

I got my yesterday. So far everything is great except for two quibbles. The first is the high pitched whine everyone's been talking about, which I used the mic fix to get rid of. The other problem I have is that the down arrow key seems to be incredibly sensitive, to the point where if I even push the up arrow key at the wrong angle, the page will scroll down. Is anyone else having this problem, or does anyone know of a fix for it?

 

This is good news! I ordered mine on the 3rd. But the build date still shows the 15th with no tracking information. Dont know what to expect but the days are nearing! Did you custom order yours or was it a pre-built order? and was your shipping/build date on scedule or did they ship ahead of time?

 

Ya, it's the 80 Gb X25-M, Model: SSDSA2MH080G2R5 $229 before taxes and shipping. $250 after taxes and shipping. I think I'm going to go ahead and use my $200 gift card on it. Ill just replace the 500GB HD included in the Envy with this until I can get the secondary mounting bracket to but the 500 in.

 

Out of everybody that has recieved their Envy already, do you recommend doing a complete restore or just removing what little bloatware there is(from what ive heard?) And since im going to manually upgrade to a SSD should i copy the HDD to the SSD or restore with discs onto the SSD? Thank for all the great input here! (sorry for the abundance of posts, at work and its slow!)

 

I agree...

 

well if you try to use the HP recovery discs on a new hard drive it will give you an error. Since you are going to a new drive, just backup your key using one of the programs on the fresh windows 7 install page and clean install windows 7 to your new drive. Then you can load the HP software you want and install the ATI drivers, intel drivers etc.

 

The 4GB RAM stick is: Samsung M471B5273CH0-CH9
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=D3-13S4GS1

 

thanks for your feedback! much appreciated and looking forward to working on this machine. Why would the recovery give me an error if used with a different hard drive? So i should migrate the OS before i make recovery discs?

 

no chance at all.

i've tried many times to pick up UPS packages too.

apparently these shipping companies are under contract with the sender to attempt at least one delivery. there can be no exceptions.

but i think u have the option to electronically sign for it... then they will leave the package at the location you request (ie. back door, etc)

 

well if you use the HP recovery discs it will only reinstall to the same size hard drive as you originally burned them on. I believe someone in this lounge ran into that problem. As long as you just back up the key using ABR which is available on the windows 7 sticky and install to a new drive you will be good. Everything that comes on the computer you can re-install using HPs support website or the SWSetup folder which I will recommend you save!

 

Oh dear ! My unit was replaced 2 days ago yet I havent't had the chance to get the new one out of the box yet, I have exams this week but I will have a look at it tonight.

 

Hey, long time lurker, first time poster.


I'm really interested in the ENVY17 and I think I'm going to get one. Only thing that worries me is the "heat" - or not.

I've noticed that some people were complaining about the heat on/from the left palm rest, while others said it was fine and just warm.
I'm aware that this may well be subject to people's different perceptions of the word "heat", but I have another theory:

Is it possible that ENVY17 owners with an i5 CPU will get less heat on the left palm rest than people with i7s?


Any insight appreciated!

 

are you impressed with your laptop other than that slight problem so far?

 

Never heard of it but it looks like it'll fit the bill. Can't tell if it comes with the proper USB 3.0 cable though. Might want to give that a check.

 

My down arrow key is fine, sounds like it's either a manufacturing fault or you have fat fingers!

Brilliant thanks. I just checked the manual on how to install a new HDD and it does not go into much detail at all, it just says "Lift the hard drive out of the hard drive bay." lol I'm sure there's more to it than that. How hard is it actually?

Thanks, will do.

 

Just a few words on the heat issue. Really, under *normal* conditions (surfing, typing, etc.), it's totally not an issue.

The only time it has gotten REALLY hot is when I'm running several updates and building virtual machines (windows 2008 server, SQL Server, MOSS2010, etc.) Those are very ram and horsepower expensive VMs so it does get pretty hot when those spin up and install.

Other than that, I can't see the average person having any issue with heat at all.

Also, what's this mic fix I saw referenced. I did notice a high pitched noise yesterday - doesn't seem to be doing it now though.

Anyone know the fix for the static on the headphones yet?

- One more thing - what's the true benefit of wiping the drive and installing from scratch? True, I generally do this for all my systems, but after removing the unwanted programs, HP truly does have some useful apps that I want to keep. Boot times are barely over 20 seconds as-is and Windows 7 Home Premium is just fine for my needs - although I might try to upgrade to Ultimate soon.

 

For me, the issue only occurs when the CPU is idle, so when I have just booted into Windows and have no apps open. Once I open my browser for example, the sound disappears.

Seeing as more and more people are reporting this issue, I made this:

A STEP BY STEP GUIDE ON HOW TO FIX THE "TWEATING/NOISES/MORSE CODE" PROBLEM. ("MIC FIX")​

-This fix mutes the microphone on the left panel 3.5mm jack, but the other microphone next to the webcam is still operational. You could simply select the other microphone (Integrated Microphone Array) in step 2 if you prefer to mute the mic next to the webcam instead.

Step 1: Right click on the speaker icon in the system tray and select "Recording devices"


Step 2: Select "Microphone" and click "Properties"


Step 3: On the "Listen" tab, tick the checkbox "Listen to this device"


Step 4: On the "Levels" tab, click the button to mute the microphone


Step 5: OK all dialog boxes to confirm settings.

 

Jaxxy - when you mention the manual, are you referring to the 116 page pdf from HP and out on the web?

That document actually has some pretty good pictures and procedures on pp. 24, 38-40 (HP page numbers, not PDF pages).

I include a link to this PDF in my posting of pictures of the drive bracket hardware a couple pages back (via the picasaweb.google.com link in the posting). You can compare your own Envy to the manual better than I (still waiting for my Envy to arrive), but it appears that the primary drive is secured merely with pressure against the rubber "hard drive isolators" and the plastic cover plate; whereas, the secondary drive is secured with four screws.

The "isolators" probably add extra shock protection for the main drive, but HP must consider the secondary drive not to be as important. Kinda reminds me of the old Avro Vulcan, delta-wing bomber where the two pilots had ejection seats, but the remaining three crew members did not. But that's another conversation.

About the only warnings I would offer are basics:

1) ground yourself before touching computer internals.
2) pull firmly and evenly on the mylar tabs, but don't jerk them. Mylar is strong, but is prone to tear if a small cut is already begun on an edge.

You can do it; no sweat.

P.S. Nice instructions on the Speaker buzz/whine issue. Thanks.

 

Sorry for the slow response - I custom ordered mine. Here's the config I ordered:

i7 720QM CPU
8GB RAM
Blu-Ray Player
Extra 9 Cell Battery
Extra AC Adapter
1920 x 1080 LCD
Wireless N And Bluetooth

 

well i bought the lower end config, with an i5-430m or whatever, and 4gb ram, but will be installing my 820qm, 8GB RAM, 160GB SSD and 1TB HD, and add to that my slimline Blu-Ray Slot-loading drive ($75 from ebay, will let know if it works!)

 

So anyone encountered the numlock turning off for no apparent reason? Since the Envy 17 doesn't have a numlock button, what are we supposed to do? I tried the Windows 7 registry fixes, but it reverts after rebooting. I didn't see any numlock settings in the BIOS. What am I missing?

 

Why aren't they offering a matte screen for this model? It says in the manual to offer anti glare screens, 300 nits.

 

Dang Johny. At it again... lol YOU ROCK!

 

Thinking of Returning My Envy 17.....would you?

Hi Guys, I did not notice this in the first two days of ownership, but when I noticed it today, I feel pretty dissapointed with the current ENVY 17 that I own and am thinking of returning it. Why?

Well, it's not a functional issue, but a 'cosmetic' issue. I am posting 2 pictures below to illustrate my issue. Today I noticed a creaking sound coming from a part of the laptop body and so I started doing an very detailed examination of the body seams.

I noticed that in the entire AREA shown below inside the yellow rectangle box, when I pressed down, it creaked really loudly, and the surface could move down just a little.

Upon closer examination, I noticed that in the location denoted by the red circle, the joining had a seperation wider than the rest of the seam lining around the body.(If you just followed the seam around and compared the seam line). The surface of the laptop also seemed just very slightly lower at the edge adjacent to the separation.

In the area denoted by the blue eclipse, there is a slight rise on the surface. It is not noticable visually, but if you run your finger over the area you can feel the slight rise.



Here is the closer shot of the area within the red circle that shows the widening of the seam. You san see the edge start closing together on the top of the picture.



I am pretty dissapointed at this time, and am thinking of calling in to return my ENVY 17. I know it's not a functional issue, but at the same time, I will be owning this laptop for a while and I will always notice the defect. I do not wish to send it in for an RMA. I expect a brand new item to be defect free, and should not need to be fixed.

I tested pressing around all the rest of the edges around the whole laptop, all seemed solid except for that section and the panel in that area. I tried to apply some pressure to push the area down to hopefully seat it right, but it did not work.

Tell me what you guys would do....

 

You have 21 days. Return it and get a new one. You paid good money for it.

 

I have an Envy 15 and there was a common "problem" with the right palm rest creaking like you mention. Most, me included, found that we could eliminate this by taking off the rubber feet on the bottom and tightening the screws a bit. I'm not sure how the 17 is assembled but if you are feeling adventurous you could take the computer apart and try bending that side in a tad as well.

Just tightening the screws worked for me. I thought you might want to try that before abandoning an awesome notebook (Envy 15v2 is underrated)

 

I agree, my Envy 15 had creaking issues till I tinkered with it. If you carefully tighten the screws properly it may solve your problem. You won't lose your warranty for screw tightening (guessing they are under the adhesive rubber feet again).

 

Ha. I was waiting for you to do this. Yeah, looking at the side, I do see the gap is closed in the middle and larger at the ends. I also can hear creaking if I push down hard. But, this laptop wasn't designed to go to Mars, it is supposed to sit on a desk. I'm going to enjoy it until something terribly wrong occurs.

For full disclosure, shouldn't you ask this question with your old signature?

 

OK, so now that a small amount of people have their 17's, I have a very important question.

Has anyone tried installing a Linux distro yet?

 

So that's all that was needed to fix the 1st generation Envy's creaky palmrests?

 

Hi, thanks for your suggestions. However, in my case, the creaking is caused by the movement of the panel at the section area where there exists an opening in the join seam, and I do not believe it will be affected by tightening the feet.

 

So, your ENVY 17 also has the gap in the seam join?

Not sure what my old sig has got to do with full disclosure? My old sig just stated that I had a G73 that arrived DOA, and an Alienware M17-R2 that I cancelled the order because I decided it was too heavy and thick.

 

there actually was a small gap, but i opened my 15 up on day one to upgrade it and tightened it down. Not saying this will fix your problem, but hope it might.

 

I am thinking of doing the same, as in swapping the dvdrom out, would you mind letting us know how you go and also what model bdrom you bought? Thanks.

 

Anyone facing the same or similar creaky chassis problems?

 

Not with mine as far as I can tell, but it seems like a pretty annoying problem indeed. I think I need to set aside some time to do a thorough check, but I'm starting to get busy with work (so I'm away from my 17). Man, if we ordered on 5/19, isn't our return policy technically over? Or does the policy begin once the notebook is delivered?

I will try to come back within this week with some kind of a review regarding my experience thus far.

 

Did anyone find a fix to the wobbly pads? My bottom right pad is slightly shorter than the other 3.

 

It starts the day it is delivered.

oh, and also, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.

I just did a youtube and google search and dug very deep through both of them and the ONLY reviews or videos I could find come from THIS thread.

How has NO ONE else even mentioned the damn thing?

Edit: ...AND Twitter! the only mention of "Envy 17" on twitter in the last week from an actual person is from the one guy over on gdgt.com that says he has gotten his.

Something seems off...

 

Probably not enough hype and with this economy, not many people are spending adventurously on new things.

 

True, but seriously, the type of person who buys a laptop like this the first week or w/e it comes out is usually also the type of person who will whip out the flipcam when it shows up to document it's Awesomeness. I'm astounded that no one decided to do that other than the couple of people here.