*HP ENVY 17 & 17 3D (2XXX series) Owners Lounge*

You only need two antenna's; it will function without the third.

 

New F16 Bios

Fixes Sleep issues with virtualization enabled in the bios.

 

This new BIOS (F16) fixed the problem I had with my Envy's inability to Restart from the Start menu and to exit Sleep mode. I have never had virtualization enabled and, being a software engineer, am very familiar with Windows and BIOS settings. It now works better than Congress (faint praise, I know).

2820QM with 8GB/Windows 7 Pro 64-bit

 

Is the default wifi module the Intel 6230 (with Bluetooth already included)? If so, would upgrading to the Intel 6300 then sacrifice your Bluetooth?

Anandtech has a nice review/overview on wifi-n cards.

AnandTech - Bigfoot?s Killer-N 1102 Wireless Networking vs. the World

If anyone has any information or can reference a youtube clip or something on how to install a third antenna to the Envy 17, I would be very itnerested.

Thanks.

 

Hello Everyone !

My Envy 17 3D runs fairly warm/hot when placing my palm, to the left of the trackpad. I have the Envy about 45 days. Is there anything specific I should update to resolve this issue ? Or, is it just something that I should expect to live with ?

Other than that, I'm very happy with the laptop. Thanks very much !

 

I had the 6200 card in my 1st Envy (17t-2100CTO 3D edition) and had the wifi freezing issues (I have a netgear 3700). HP sent me a new card (also a 6200) and it was better, but it still froze occasionally so I rolled back the drivers to 13.0.0.107 and the freezing went away but so did the ability to enable the My wifi. I didn’t try Bluetooth at that point so I don’t know if that was affected or not. That Envy was returned (because of the hardware virtualization issue). The replacement Envy (same 17t-2100CTO 3D edition) also came with the 6200 card and the same wifi freezing problems. As suggested here I ordered and installed the 6300 card (did not install third antenna). No freezing issues with the latest drivers and My wifi works fine. The Bluetooth radio will turn on/off but I don’t have any devices to try communicating with it. I did have to update the drivers several times because I was getting bluetooth stack errors. After all that was sorted out everything seems to be working – no wifi freezing – no Bluetooth stack errors. Installing the 6300 card appears to have been the ticket for me anyway.
A side note, the replacement Envy also had the hardware virtualization issue but that seems to have been fixed with BIOS F.16.
.

 

Hello again !

I apologize for being a bit off-topic, but I recently purchased an H8-Xt Desktop. Awesome unit, and it worked great right out of the box. I had a perfect wireless connection, with download speeds of 22 Mbps.

After doing several windows updates, The internet speed is now 3 Mbps. I've called tech support, done tons of uninstall/reinstall, temporary disabled the firewall, and nothing seems to work.

The wireless card is a Ralink DualStream 802.11 card. Is there any place I can research or update drivers, to try and resolve this issue ?

My questions are : Is there any chance HP will slightly extend my 21 day return policy until we can see if there is a resolution.

Also, can you share with me, the phone number is for the resolution team, as I am spinning my wheels with tech support. I thought I saw it on this thread, but searched back 100 pages with no luck.

Thanks very much in advance !

 

@StocksMan

Create a separate thread. What you are doing is thread-jacking and it is not tolerated on these forums.

 

@cvmtmvc that's good to hear, I have the netgear 3700 too and was also thinking about getting the 6300 wifi card. Was it easy to replace the card? Is it located at the bottom or underneath the keyboard? I hope works out for you. Keep us posted.

 

@skiwalker - Very easy to replace card. Flip laptop over, remove battery, remove two screws holding down hard drive cover, pull back cover gently, remove two screws holding RAM cover, remove cover. Two screws hold down the wifi card, remove those (don't let them fall into the case), disconnect the antenneas, lift out card. Reverse and reboot.

 

The F.16 BIOS apparently has broken my brightness keys. Does anyone else have this problem? I updated to F.16 about a week ago.

 

My brightness keys still work. I'm on F.16, but I'm only using the latest version of the ATI driver set that you can download direct from HP.

 

Thanks T100owner. I'll be doing it once the card comes in.

 

I Updated to F.16 yesterday and all the brightness keys still work, I'm still using the ATI drivers that Hp installed.The lights was the first thing I checked out when the BIOS update finished. I was at work too, people was wondering what I was doing in my office with the lights off and the laptop on.

 

I have Envy 14, but considering 17 now. Anyone knows if better graphics card might be available soon? 6850 just seems too slow already.

 

Hello all,

I received a Pavilion DV6 today and was incredibly unimpressed with it. Sitting next to my Dell Studio XPS, it simply was boring.

So I pulled the trigger on an Envy 17 from Amazon.com. I'm vaguely aware of the wireless card problem and the Bios problem, each with a solution... driver and Bios update, respectively.

A quick question... this config comes with 6GB RAM. Will that be adequate? Mainly a Photoshop and MS Office user, no gaming... but intense, power web surfing! Haha!

Thoughts? Warnings? Advice? TIA!

 

6 GB of ram will suffice. With the price of memory today, you can replace the 2GB stick with a 4 very easily. Machine comes with DDR3 1333. HP uses either Samsung or Hynix (Hyundai) so replacing the one stick down the road won't be difficult. I have had the Envy 17 3D since April and cannot be happier with a machine. Machine comes with switchable graphics (AMD 6850M and Intel Graphics)...with muxer, so you can manually switch between the cards. I have the AMD run on power and Intel on battery. With a six cell battery, brightness on 6 and keyboard backlighting ON I get 3 hours and 25 minutes battery time. I can make other adjustments to increase that, but don't. You should be very happy with the machine. If I recommend anything it is a warranty extension...but I base that on years of use with Toshiba and Dell.

Also, there was a CPU "Throttling Issue" on the earlier models that was fixed with new bios. When your machine arrives and you have gotten it registered, etc....hit Fn-Esc and check your bios rev. You are going to want to update to the latest F.16. Once done...the machine will rock!!! Enjoy the Envy...

 

Hi all, I've also had the freezing issues and have pinpointed the WiFi as the cause. I rolled back to the v13 drivers as suggested in these forums but I still get an occasional freeze. I understand a 6300 series card is compatible with the Envy 3D 2000 (i have the 1st sandy bridge version) and fixes the issues. I just want to confirm if this is the correct card: Newegg.com - Intel Ultimate N 633ANHMW Ultimate N 633ANHMW Wireless Adapter Mini PCI Express Up to 450Mbps Wireless Data Rates 64/128-Bit WEP, WPA, WPA2

Thanks.

 

That's the card I ordered from New Egg. Just a word of caution though, it did NOT fix the freezing issue for me completely. It freezes less than with the 6200 that my Envy was originally shipped with, but I still had several freezes yesterday when trying to download a large file over wireless. I'm currently using the 14.1.1.3 driver, and have not yet tried others with the 6300. HP also sent me a new 6200 which I had installed for a couple of days with no freezes before the 6300 arrived, so I may switch back to that. There have been several others in this forum who were not able to fix their freezes with the 6300, and there are many for whom the 6300 worked. It seems that finding the right combination of card, driver, and router can be tricky if you weren't one of the lucky ones who had no wifi issues out of the box.

 

SCORE! I had no idea this was the problem with my sleep problem. No one I talked to could figure it out.

 

Good stuff, Bobmitch! Repped.

Yeah, I was looking at a Corsair 8GB kit from Amazon ($40 after $10 MIR). That's easy enough to swap out. I was also looking at one of those SSD Hybrid drives, like this one for $100. Some online friends of mine have it and say it's fantastic. Since my laptop will come with dual 500GB drives, I figure I can swap one out with this. Not sure if it's that simple or not, but I'll give it a go.

I've been reading that some people are just upgrading their wifi card. I probably won't do that but instead just roll back the driver... if I have problems. As for battery, I stay plugged in. I'll likely prefer the 9-cell simply because I like my laptop propped up a bit. That's the way my XPS is and I like it... not to mention that it helps with ventilation.

My only fear is running into build issues. Reading this thread... this long, long thread... I can see there are many returned units due to dents, cracks and gaps. *crosses fangers*

 

Thanks for the advice. Since its a relatively cheap part I may give it a shot anyways. Please PM me if you discover any new solutions.

 

To those have you having freezing issues with wifi, have you done a clean install? I know from experience that some of the bloat that HP puts on the Envy can interfere with normal functions.

Also, it is possible that the freezing is caused by the extra Intel software, aka the Intel Wireless Manager (or whatever it is called) and the Wifi Display application (or whatever it is called). When those applications are running, the Wireless Manager does some QoS. It is possible that this QoS is what is causing the freezing since the Manager has to always keep 20% wireless bandwidth (default programming) available for the Wifi Display feature and 10% bandwidth (again default programming) for the virtual wifi network if you have that enabled.

In the case where you have more than adequate wireless signal and hence good wireless bandwidth, you may not encounter freezing. However, when your download exceeds the QoS allocated bandwidth, the Intel software does some balancing that causes the Wifi Display, virtual Wifi, and your actual Wifi connection to swap in and out really fast. Essentially, one pair of transmit and receive antennas will always connect to your router and the other pair of transmit and receive antennas will play triple duty and serve Wifi Display, virtual Wifi, and your actual Wifi connection with the help of Intel's software.

 

Just ordered mine whats the key 1st thing i should do???

 

The thing with fences and the "double click on the desktop to hide all icons" my bro wonder if that's new in win7 or if it's for this laptop, and I kinda wonder now too, it's two awesome features and I'm glad I have them But do they come with this laptop only or is it in win7?

 

Im running a totally clean install. Using an OEM version of Win 7 activated by backup up the HP activation credentials. Drivers used are the latest from the HP. How would I install the wifi drivers without the other crap that's in the installer package? No matter what signal strength I have it freezes when transferring large files over wifi. In fact it just did it and im sitting 5ft from the router (linksys E3200) with a 95% signal strength. So downloading anything substantial or syncing files between the envy and desktop will lock up the system. The latest Intel wifi drivers and the suggested 13.1.1.1 drivers both show freezing issues. I'm beyond an exchange period at this point (got it when the sandy bridge envys came out) and this is starting to me off. At the time Hp had me trying bios updates and clean installs. In this day and age we shouldn't need to find the proper match between laptop, wifi card, and router. Any advice from someone who solved this issue would be greatly appreciated.




Edit: Boy do i feel silly. Seems the suggested drivers were 13.0.0.107. Somehow my laptop updated them. Must have not been paying attention to windows update. Gonna see how these go. Still if anyone has a 1st gen SB Envy 17 3D and has found a working alternative wifi module I would appreciate a suggestion. Having to play these games with drivers is silly.

 

Hello

I'm newbie here and I'm exactly in the same boat with you with the freeze issue. My Envy 17 has passed 7-day replacement period in my country. I have tried different drivers version but without luck. I'm searching for 13.0.0.107 that several people mentioned but can't find the place to download. The best that I can get is 13.5.0.6 that is far better than 14.0 or 14.1. It gives me more time to use my Envy before the system freeze.

Please point me the direction to download the version 13.0.0.107 or the version that will not freeze my computer anymore. I want my expensive notebook to be more stable and usable not freeze many times a day like this.

Thank you in advance.

 

Here ya go: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?lang=eng&changeLang=true&DwnldId=18212

So far so good for me. make sure you pay attention to windows update and uncheck/hide any updates pertaining to intel drivers. If you dont these could get overwritten and make you freeze again. Hope this helps.

 

Thanks mate. Hope it'll work for me as well.

 

Just to make sure I get this correct. I can order an Intel-6300 wireless card from places like Newegg and it will work? I do not have to order the HP OEM part?

 

Hey everyone. so having some serious issues with my new Envy. I got it with a single 750 gb drive and bought an OCZ Vertex 120g with the caddy adapter. I put the SSD in slot B and formatted and installed my own version of Windows Ultimate. Then I started downloading all the drivers. My issues are that for some reason when I put the SSD in slot A, the computer says there is no bootable device. SSD in slot B and nothing in slot A, same thing. If hard drive in slot A and SSD in slot B then it asks me which drive to boot from and I can successfully boot from either. I want the SSD in slot A and then to wipe slot B and use it for data.

Any help?

There are a couple of other issues such as when booted into the SSD I cannot download the bluetooth driver because the hardware is not recognized and a couple other things but I am still trying to single out the issues and will report back with what i can find out.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

OK...so we know that your bios recognizes both drives when SSD is in slot B. Leave it there. As an experiment, do you have an empty SATA drive handy...if yes...put it in place of the 750...if NOT...you may have to wipe the 750 AND SSD and make them both empty. Don't erase anything off any drives until you use the Vertex toolbox and properly erase the drive. Make sure to install the Vertex toolbox and run the Erase utillty on the drive FROM the 750 first, also if there is a firmware upgrade for the SSD...you can sucessfully run the upgrade now as well. Then disconnect the SSD temporarily and boot into your Ultimate disk..act like you are going to install windows...do a custom and at the point when it shows you the drive...format it. Make sure to leave the drive blank...shut down and reinstall the SSD. Now you have a blank SSD and formatted 750. Use your ultimate disk and reinstall windows. Again...do a custom. When it comes time...choose the SSD as the OS drive...format it, then format the 750 again for safe measure and install Windows ONLY ON THE SSD. The SSD should be made bootable AND the 750 should have no data on it. When you boot into Windows from the SSD...SSD should be C, 750 D, and your Blu Ray ROM / DVD should be E.

Try that...

The Bluetooth module is the Broadcom 2070. Get the drivers here:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...dlc=en&lc=en&os=4063&product=5069367&sw_lang=

Make sure in the bios of your machine (update to the latest f.16) that wireless and bluetooth are enabled. Perhaps somehow the bluetooth may be shut off. The HP wireless assistant may have to be installed first...then make sure that it is enabled

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...dlc=en&lc=en&os=4063&product=5069367&sw_lang=

DO NOT FORGET

Before you wipe the 750...make a copy of the directory SWSETUP. Also, if you have the Envy 17 3D, make a copy of your TriDef directory, for it holds the HP license for the software...you don't want to have to pay for the software.

Also, be mindful that before you wipe the 750...there are other partitions on it. HP Recovery, HP tools and one other. You can delete these partitions if you choose and have the full 750 to play with. The recovery partition may not work anyway and you recover some 20 GB of space back. You can install HP tools on the SSD. One more thing...when installing the OS on the SSD...it will create another unletterd partition of about 100 MB for system files and the like...let it...for it also properly allocates and aligns the drive. This will make it run properly later.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the response Bob. I rang HP last night and they said I should burn the recovery discs from the original 750 drive and install them onto the SSD drive while it's in slot B. From there they said I should be able to boot into the SSD while in slot A and install my Windows Ultimate disc on top of that. Then I can wipe the 750, though I would probably still keep the recovery partition (and copy my swsetup and tridef folder to the SSD). What do you think? They dont know what's wrong with the bluetooth but said after the recovery, if it's still not there, they will send me a replacement.

What do you think? Oh and if I go this route, should I use the Vertex Toolbox to erase the drive before I install the recovery discs on it?

Thanks again!

 

Sounds like a good plan. If it works the way HP told you...actually a bit easier. You don't have to repartition the 750, just erase the C partition. That will keep your recovery partition intact...although if your recovery disks work...do you still need the partition?

As far as wiping the Vertex...YES...you want to wipe the drive using their toolbox...it will for certain erase the data on the drive. If you don't do that, you run the risk of the drive retaining the data and that will actually effect the actual usable space and perhaps impact performance down the road.

Q. How can I reset a solid state disk (SSD) to a fully erased, clean state?

Now I don't think you will have to deal with such drastic measures. Using the format (drive letter) command prompt off the 750 should do it, because Windows 7 has TRIM...so it will clean the disk.

My only question to you is...

Did you purchase the machine with Windows 7 Ultimate? Example, if you purchased Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit...what will it take for you to upgrade to your copy of Ultimate? Is it just putting in the DVD Key and the OS downloading missing elements? This will be interesting, indeed.

You have two scenarios...both workable. Try HP's and see how it goes...I still recommend formatting the C partition on the 750 after you create the disks, or you are going to encounter the same dual boot scenario. You are going to want NO OS on the 750 when you install to the SSD...

Keep us posted...this is a new one...for the data bank

On second thought if you can wipe the Vertex using the OCZ utility...do that. It was specifically written for your drive. I have an Intel SSD...and it does have a secure erase element built into it. Unfortunately it is installed on the Intel drive which is C so I can't do it. But if I could boot to my 640 GB drive I could...so you are set up for that...might be the best way

 

I purchased it with Home Premium and I already have Ultimate and the key. I am assuming (and hoping) that it will install windows over it and not affect any of the HP software like beats, firmware, etc. OK, I am burning the recovery DVDs now and will keep you guys posted. Before I use them on the SSD, I will use the toolbox to make sure I have the latest firmware and also to wipe it completely. And yes, I will remove Windows from the 750 once I have confirmed that it works.

Thanks for the help again! Fingers crossed...

 

Bad news, the driver version 13.0.0.107 still freeze my Envy for fourth time already. What is the next driver version I should try? Is this problem a hardware defect? Or just a software bug? What should I do before sending mine to the HP service.

I have updated BIOS to the latest F.16

Anyone could help will be greatly appreciated.

 

OCZ Toolbox does not see my SSD. It might be possible that I am not in AHCI mode. How do I check this? And if I'm not how do I enable it?

Thanks!

 

1. Exit all Windows-based programs.
2. Click Start, type regedit in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER.
3. If you receive the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
4. Locate and then click one of the following registry subkeys:
5. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci
6. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\IastorV
7. In the right pane, right-click Start in the Name column, and then click Modify.
8. In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
9. On the File menu, click Exit to close Registry Editor.


Also, as far as Win 7 to Win Ultimate. Basically the anytime upgrade is based on a different product code. I believe that if you do the same...by inserting your DVD key where appropriate, Windows should upgrade from Home Premium to Ultimate and do it without an installation...

 

In case anyone is interested, I just received my Envy 17 2070NR from Amazon today. I'm sure it was already in inventory when the BIOS update came out, but it was loaded with BIOS F.15 and Intel Advanced-N 6200 version 14.0. So I updated the BIOS with F.16 and rolled back the wifi to v13.5.

My 15 minute review? Wow, this trackpad sucks! LOL! I mean, really? I'll spend some time tonight on the touchpad enhancements to see if any of those work for me. Mostly, I'm using a wireless mouse but the touchpad as it arrived is a major shortcoming for a 'mobile' device.

That is all. Please drive through.

 

If you want more functionality...go to Synaptics

download 15.2.20

It has Scrybe with it and gives the touchpad a whole new world of features like scrolling vertical and horizontal as well as zoom in and zoom out...two finger touch and more. I haven't used the HP drivers since 15.2.20 came out...these are so much better

 

Re: Testing the Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 AGN

I just got my Centrino 6300 from Buy.com (SKU 215089005 - $31.99 free shipping) and internal antenna from OxfordTEC.com (Laptop Internal Aerial Antenna U.Fl plug connector (WAEISO3-S0) - $9.99 & $5.60 S/H) replacing the 6200 and updating to the 14.1.1.3 driver from Intel. Antenna is insulated and fits easily in the same cavity as the 6300. The only caveat is that the drive cover put up a struggle during removal. There are only two screws but there is also a locking tab in the center near the rubber foot. Cracked it a little near the tab but a quick dab of epoxy has made an invisible repair.

Now, who might have a suggestion for software to test my throughput to my wireless router? I've actually got 3 Netgear WNDR3700s in my home net running the latest Netgear firmware. I never experienced transfer hangs with the 6200 but have the need (the need for speed).

 

Thanks again Bob. So the latest update might be a little anticlimactic for anyone following this issue. HP just re-released the Intel 300 SSD and I'm returning my unit for one of those. I still get to use the 30% discount code and I will install a WD Scorpio Black 750gb in the secondary drive. I was never able to get my bluetooth to work. Presumably HP will preconfigure the notebook for optimal use of the Intel SSD, as always fingers crossed. I'll see if I can use the Windows upgrade anytime link and just insert my serial number so that I wont have to reinstall Windows and can keep all the good HP stuff (and delete/uninstall all the crap) without having to reinstall all of that too.

I'll keep you guys posted.

 

So in a moment of weakness and desperation I caved in and convinced myself that I wanted a dv7t Quad Edition....

Well I returned it for a few different reasons but mostly the single band wireless card as well as the backlit keyboard and better graphics card. Anyawys I called to cancel. Now I have to play this stupid waiting game with HP.

As soon as the money is back in my account I'm buying the Envy 3D....here's to hoping its by Friday.

EDIT: Serious question though...it seems like everyone is having issues with the wireless card thats in the Envy? Is this a real issue that I should be worried about that's impacting daily performance and usage? Or is it just nitpicking at a little issue that is affecting a small population?

 

Thanks for that. I'm not big on gestures, but I like the basic Back and Forward movements when browsing (triple finger swipe).

I have an Intel 510 120GB SSD on the way. After breaking the RAID on the two 500GB drives that came with the laptop (using your guide, thanks!), I want to replace one of the drives with the SSD. So a follow up question... I bought a Win7Pro Upgrade disc ( $30 student upgrade) so I'll be able to do a clean install to the SSD and install the drivers from vendor sites and HP apps from the SwSetup folder, right?

 

Your student version is an upgrade version. That doesn't mean you can't do a clean install...there are tricks:

Clean Install Windows 7 With Upgrade Media and Product Key on Formatted or Empty Blank Hard Drive My Digital Life

OR...

Simply use your recovery disks and install Home Premium with all the HP software already installed as well. Now using the "Anytime Upgrade" option, insert your Professional key...you should automatically upgrade your OS to Professional. The features are there but locked. This should unlock the features...If this works, you should have your SWSETUP folder and Tridef folders on the drive. Best to back them up in case.

If you do the clean install method...be doubly sure to make backups of SWSETUP and TriDef...they are your drivers and the license to your 3D software

 

I have the Intel 6200N card since day one. I use it with a d-link DIR-655 router and have never had freezes, etc. From what I read when I was purchasing...there are certain chipsets that cause the 6200N to have fits. In most cases, either the 13.0 drivers or turning the router to G will fix the issue. D-Link uses Atheros chipset. I do believe that people have had good success with Netgear who uses Broadcom...as does Buffalo.

 

Good luck with the new machine. Good to see you have a plan in motion...

 

Quick question - is the 3D display better in regular use? Or is the panel quality more or less equal. From what I understand the 3D has a higher refresh rate but does it look better/have better tech specs? Again, outside of the 3D feature.

 

I have the same setup and never a freeze, I did have adobe flash crashes on YouTube and on some other sites.

 

Hmm thats surprising. Are you sure those drivers are still installed? Have you checked the device manager for the driver version? Control Panel->Device Manager->Network Adapters ->Right-click 6200 AGN, click properties->driver tab. If that doesnt say 13.0.0.107 youll need to hit the Uninstall button and check the box that gives you the option to delete the drivers. Then reboot and run the .103 driver installer again.

Since installing them myself the issue has yet to show up. I do regular syncs of my itunes folder over wifi with my main PC and have yet to get it to freeze. You may have a deeper issue beyond bad drivers. I would suggest contacting HP if this doesnt work. Or if you have the cash, might wanna give that 6300 card on newegg a try.