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

I use mine in the same situation; rarely ever mobile.

I just leave the battery in at all times. Yes, it will slowly die (lose capacity), but that is the sad fact of lithium ion batteries. It happens whether you use them or not. Sure, it will happen faster being plugged in all the time, but it's a small price to pay when you think of it as a "UPS".

I have no problem paying ~$50 for a new battery every 1-2 years for the peace of mind that if the power goes out or I accidentally pull the plug, that I won't lose any unsaved data.

 

Great points, Thanks! I will definitely follow suite as I didn't even think about the possible loss of data aspect..

Thanks!

PS: UPS just delivered my Brand New ENVY 17! The packaging was everything everyone claimed it was! It came with both batteries with the 6 cell installed. I however, replaced it with the 9 cell since it gives me some lift in the back and extra circulation underneath, even though it will be on an Allsop Aluminum stand (see prior posting with link). I just checked the cosmetic aspects, and it is PERFECT, not a blemish to be found. I checked all of the cosmetic areas in which others have reported issues and nothing, all is great! I'm getting ready to fire it up, so I'll hopefully I'll be busy enjoying my new ENVY the rest of the day, without issue! Will report back later today! Thanks to all of the folks on this site who painstakingly assist those in need and help those who need to make that tough, "Which Laptop should I buy" decision!

 

Yeah, I checked that out as well, way to costly. So I'll stick with the 6GB for now and later determine if I actually need the bump up to 8GB. The big question is, will there actually be a recognized performance boost by changing it to 8GB?

 

Well I am typing and connected to the web with google chrome and the Wi-Fi connection. Have not connected the Ethernet cable yet, because I wanted to see if any problems came up with the Wi-Fi, and so far no problems at all. The ENVY is cosmetically PERFECT not a blemish anywhere! I have already created the 5 restore DVD's and no problem. The W.E.I's lowest scores are on the Hard drives at 5.9, the next lowest score is a 7.1 for the graphics, 7.4 for the CPU and 7.5 for the RAM! Not bad, heck it is the best scores for any PC I have ever owned until now. Can I officially say, I'm in love, LOL!!!! Is there anyway to up the HD score short of buying an SSD, which I cannot do currently, since I just bought the ENVY.

This laptop is simply unbelievable! There is NO keyboard bounce anywhere, everything is a perfect fit throughout... The track pad is working without a hitch. The laptop was getting a little warm when I was creating the recovery DVD's, but once I placed it on the Allsop stand, that took care of the heat issue, now it is just warm like any other. Of course I have yet to put it through any of the paces yet, but I'm going slow and trying to see if anything pops up. Oh and the BIOS that came with it is F.15. With everything working so well, I'm kinda cautious on updating the BIOS to F.16. What do you guys think, go for it or stay where I'm at????

Is there any way to tell when the ENVY was made, like a build date?

 

I haven't had any wireless issues with my Envy at all....just thought I'd chime in.

Just waiting for the Samsung SSD and then to get my 2nd HDD. So far so good tho. I'll be running all those benchmark tests on Saturday/Sunday.

In shock over Jobs dying though...

 

Ditto on Steve. Totally in Shock!

Where can one get the desktop gadget to monitor the cpu and or graphics? I have downloaded all of the HP updates via wireless connection, updated the BIOS, all without a single hiccup. Heck it is barely warm. Just got done watching Predators on Blu-Ray. This screen is unreal! I am so happy I got this laptop! May I also add, I have never had one with this performance before, this is my first true beast! Love It!

 

Is the Envy drive a 7mm drive or 9mm? Apparently the Samsung 830 series ssd is a 7mm one....just curious.

 

It really depends on what you are doing. For web browsing, probably not. Gaming, probably a little. Rendering and virtualization, more than likely yes.

If you upgrade to a 2x4GB RAM kit, you will gain two benefits. One, you will you have more memory in the laptop. Two, your laptop will be able to use dual channel memory addressing because both memory sticks will be the same size and speed. With different memory sticks, the BIOS automatically disables dual channel access.

Edit: oops I meant 2x4 on the memory kit. Sorry.

 

I'd recommend being at the latest bios for the Envy 17. If you want to play it safe, only perform the BIOS update when not performing other updates or making changes to your laptop's software (i.e. don't try to flash the bios while running a windows update).

 

To Metril or anyone else using a 6300:

Can anyone point me to a specific driver that works well with the 6300 please? I had freezing issues with the factory installed drivers for the 6200, but downgrading to 13.0.5.6 fixed it.

I had already purchased a 6300 (633ANHMW from Amazon as listed above) along with a Cisco E4200 WAP, so I decided to give it a try to see if it would boost my connection speed. The 6300 connects at a higher speed, but freezes with versions 14.1.1.3 and 13.0.5.6. For now, I have taken it out and reinstalled the 6200 with 13.0.5.6. I no longer freeze, but I'd prefer to put the 6300 back in if I can get it to work.

Also, I did use a third antenna with the 6300. I just snaked it around inside the memory and hard drive compartments. This wouldn't cause freezing, would it?

Thanks,
Kevin
Envy 17t-2100 3D CTO
2820/12GB/300GB SSD/750GB HDD

 

Thanks for the sound advice guys. Well, I DL'd all of the HP updates and windows updates via Wi-Fi without a hiccup, so I'm thinking NO problem with Wi-Fi. Plugged in the Ethernet cable and it is soaring! I did the BIOS after the HP updates and before the windows updates, no problems. The Envy is running just as it should flawlessly.... I just ordered the 8GB RAM upgrade from Crucial, should be here next week. Time to install software, grrr... By the way, I read some where on here that you should backup the SwSetup directory. Do you need to do this even if you create recovery disc's? Also, after you make the recovery disc's, is it safe to delete the restore partition, or just leave it in place?

Thanks guys!

 

YES....backup the SWSETUP directory just in case...AND...if you have the Envy 17 3D, make sure to back up C:\Program Files (x86)\TriDef 3D. This directory contains the 3D engine software for the 17 3D, but more importantly is the HP license for said software...this way...you keep it free!

I have seen where many have deleted the recovery partition after creating recovery disks. The choice is up to you. Should something go wrong, you can always call HP and ask for another set of disks...

 

Agreed...I actually recommend download and install all the HP updates except the bios update. Download that from your product page and run separately...

 

I find that the best way to maximize the life of my battery...use it once or twice a week...run it down and recharge. Best solution to store the battery...at 40% capacity. Over the years, it is proven to be the "sweet spot" for storing for a week or two at a time. But I do suggest exercising the battery at least once a week...use it up...Otherwise, by leaving it in all the time...you may actually use up it's Life capacity much faster

 

Roughly every two weeks I boot to BIOS and then pull the plug and let the battery completely drain, then plug it back in and let it fully charge. That gives the battery a workout and also updates it's capacity.

I guess what I was getting at is I would never do anything on my laptop without having a battery inserted. I've lost data on a desktop before from a power outage.

 

Thanks guys for all of the useful battery suggestions! Question though, why boot to BIOS and than disconnect the battery? Why not do it from inside windows, since you basically cannot really do anything from within the BIOS?

Also, when you disconnect the Envy from the power cord, I read that you should unplug the power cord from the wall, and NOT from the Laptop. I have never heard of that before (Matter a fact, I have always disconnected the power cord at the Laptop connection, since the unit is connected to my UPS/Suppressor, which is tucked between my computer desk and the wall. Kinda hard to get too), although I have only had 2 Laptops in my life.

However, neither of them could even come close to competing to this baby. The think the most powerful one I had, had a W.E.I score of like 5.2 over all, with the highest rating being 6.1 in only one sub-category. Heck even my best desktop, cannot touch my Envy, so it is truly the BEST I have ever had.

I decided to take my Envy out for a stroll today since the weather is so nice. So I am actually sitting in my favorite StarBucks enjoying life and being the Envy (No pun intended, LOL) of those who take a gander.....

OK, I have created my "Recovery Disc's" and backed up the "SwSetup" directory. So, since I can only make "ONE (1), set of restore Disc's, do I need to retain the "Restore" directory? So delete or retain, what would you guys suggest??

One other battery question. I have a 6 cell and a 9 cell battery. When I run my battery diagnostics, through "HP Support Assistant", it show "4" cell voltages, but only 3 cells have readings. Why are there not 6 or 9 cell voltages, to correspond with the cells on the batteries? Can you tell I'm no iT guy, LOL.... Just something that caught my attention..

Thanks!

 

Not sure if it's been posted before, but there are actually 2 different F16 updates. One is from 7/26 I believe and the other sometime in August.

 

Hi all,

I'm wondering whether you can help me with my Envy 17.

First off, I must say I'm not 100% sure what product name this laptop has other than HP Envy 17. When I registered the laptop it stated "HP ENVY 17t-2000 CTO Notebook PC" however auto-detection on the HP UK site has suggested 4 different laptops ranging from <2000 to >2000. The US site brings back nothing.

Okay, now to tell you about the problem I am having...the laptop keeps lagging even when solely browsing the web. I recorded the laptop lagging out whilst listening to we7.com this morning - video here.

I have installed all updates via HP Support Assistant Tool - bar a BIOS update as I downloaded a patch from the HP website which is meant to resolve the multi-task lag - and all updates via Windows Update - again, bar a graphic card update which causes the screen to turn off when Windows boots up.

I have restored Windows twice with has not helped (plus multiple system restores).

PC also lags when playing games such as Portal ONE - I've seen on YouTube these laptops are meant to be able to handle Crysis 2 so it should have any problem with Portal one.

I bought the laptop last month off eBay second hand however it was purchased in April 2011 - warranty valid until April 2013. Whilst I am in the UK, it is obvious this laptop was imported - it has a US plug and the keyboard layout is American (no pound sign on the keyboard).

Since receiving the laptop, I have suffered one blue screen of death, one overheat shut down and constant stalling (normally when opening the lid after a period of time).

I am not sure whether to contact HP or argue with the seller on eBay - either way it's going to be pretty embarrasing for me as I've been looking to get a HP Envy 17 laptop for months so told everyone how good the specs were - really thought I got a brilliant deal with this one as UK based Envy's (through HP) don't come with a BluRay drive.

Specs are below;

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1 (7601.win7sp1_gdr.110622-1506)
BIOS: InsydeH2O Version 03.61.01F.15
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2630QM CPU @ 2.00GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.0GHz
Memory: 6144MB RAM
Available OS Memory: 6092MB RAM
DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Graphic Card name: Radeon (TM) HD 6850M
Display Memory: 3802 MB
Dedicated Memory: 1012 MB
Shared Memory: 2789 MB
Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
Native Mode: 1920 x 1080(p) (59.997Hz)
Optical Drive: BluRay
Hard Drive: 750Gb

Full DXDIAG report here.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Kind regards,

Andy

 

If you do it with Windows running you have to change the power settings to be able to completely drain the battery. If you don't make the changes windows will shutdown/sleep before the battery has a chance to drain all the way. Even if you do make the changes, you get an improper shutdown when the battery dies (never a good thing).

There is nothing in the BIOS that helps calibrate the battery, other than letting it run down completely. Some laptops like Gateways have a battery calibration tool in BIOS, but it's really nothing more than a visual aid. The tool will also tell you the before/after capacity, but you can check that manually on any laptop with a system info tool like HWiNFO or SIW.

 

The Envy 17, only has one F16 BIOS dated 08/05/2011. Since I don't have the 3D version, that must be what you are referring to.

Hey guys, please look at my post prior to this one and give me your thoughts, appreciate it..

Thanks!

 

What program do you all recommend to keep tabs on the heat within the Envy?

Thanks!

 

I would start with flashing the F.16 BIOS update. If that doesn't change anything I would personally skip the HP restore garbage and install an OEM/Retail version of Windows 7.

I don't have ANY HP software on my 17t-2100 3D and the thing is running better than any computer I have ever owned.

 

Hey Guys, I just installed HWINFO64 and have some temp questions, all regarding Fahrenheit NOT Celsius. So what is the MAX temp I should see? Currently is bouncing between 179-181. Since I do not know what the MAX is I don't know what the temps represent. So if someone could give me some temp info I would appreciate..

 

I use CoreTemp + All CPU Meter windows gadget. The CoreTemp installer is horrible and needs special attention when installing or it will install a bunch of bloatware.

 

Forget Fahrenheit gunny; it will just cause confusion. Most people (even us imperial system folk) are used to PC temps being stated in Celcius.

You can see in the pic I posted my idle temp is around ~55C with Radeon graphics on, ~48C with the Intel graphics. During constant heavy load, like running prime95 torture test, my temps get to around ~90C.

 

Thank YOU! OK, I switched to Celsius and also adjusted my "CoolSense" so it is running in the "COOLEST" mode. It was in the "Performance Optimized" mode. When I switched the temp went down by 20 degrees quick. Is that the right setting? So now my Celsius is 63 and I'm running Dragon Age Origins, downloading from the web and using Google Chrome. So how is that temp, is it OK?

I'm also using the sidebar gadget from HWINFO64 for my temp monitoring. Is that OK?

 

I'm not familiar with CoolSense, so I can't comment on it. I barely had an hours use of my ENVY before I installed retail Win7 Ultimate and never reinstalled any HP software.

63C sounds perfectly normal for that usage.

Yeah, nothing wrong with HWiNFO64 and the sidebar gadget if that's what you've got working. I find the gadget a little too small with no resizing option (that I could find anyway). I've been using the All CPU Meter gadget for a long time so that's what I prefer since CoreTemp is compatible with it.

 

Coolsense is an HP program that regulates the fan usage in sync with your system usage, actually pretty cool. Once I set it on the Coolest setting it got my system cooled down quickly. It pretty much keeps it in the mid 60's while playing Dragon Age Origins on Max settings.. I've never seen the game with these settings as the best my previous desktop could handle was low-med. So you know it is a whole new world now, unreal the difference!

 

Sorry, I meant I know what the program is and what it does, I just haven't used it.

IMO, Windows built in thermal management does a good enough job.

 

Hi h8isgr8,

I've flashed BIOS to InsydeH2O Version 03.61.01F.16 however this has made things worse. Now starts lagging the minute Windows loads - see video. Would a fresh version of Windows really help? Would prefer to avoid wiping the hard drive again...however if it's the only way to sort the problem then I will do.

Update: I left the laptop off for a while and used my old Acer instead. Upon returning to this laptop it has booted up properly. Currently sitting at CPU usage of 11% rather than >90%. Temp is at an average of 61 degrees. Although all looks okay, I'm pretty sure it will continue to lag out on occassion as it did this before - I will monitor and let you know.

 

Soon after giving the above update, the laptop decided to lag out again - 100% against all CPUs. I have a screenshot but currently running BIOS tests which are taking sometime (using Acer at the moment)!

 

I have never heard of this, "Windows built in thermal management". What is it and how does it work? Is it in ALL versions of Windows, or only certain packages?

 

BIOS tests passed but laptop still running at 100%. I have given up for the time being. Spent too much time over the last 2 weeks trying to sort this. All I know is the BIOS F15 version (the particular version designed to counteract a hyper threading issue) I was using seemed to help but does not permanently resolve the problem.

 

Long time since I checked in here but I'm here with a question

Does this laptop have DirectX11 or I mean, can it run games that require that?

 

Have you tried loading up another OS, like an Ubuntu Live CD? That would go a long way in helping you narrow down whether it is a Windows issue or hardware/BIOS issue.

 

Yes, the HD6850m is DIRECTX 11 compatible.

 

Thank you

 

Well it would appear from my initial research that the hard drives being equiped on the HP Envy 17 are now SATA 3. This is the hard drive I have (X2):

Hitachi Travelstar 7K750 HTS727550A9E364 (Per CNET: 500 GB/SATA-300)

So, am I reading this correctly? If so, that is great news since I was going to purchase SATA 3 capable hard drives down the road, since people were stating the hard drives were not SATA 3, but only SATA 2 hard drives were being installed.

Can someone please confirm my findings... Thanks guys!

** Here is the CNET Link: http://reviews.cnet.com/internal-ha...4/4507-9998_7-34558716.html?tag=mncolBtm;rnav

** Another link: http://www.hdsentinel.com/storageinfo_details.php?lang=en&model=HITACHI HTS727550A9E364

 

RAID 0 .. Keep it or turn it off, which is the better option? I'm pretty sure RAID 0 increases performance, but how much I don't know since the HD's are already running at 7200rpm's. However the detriment of the RAID 0 is if one hard drive fails, both fail. Now I don't know how likely that is to happen, but man that scares the heck out of me. Of course, I know you gotta keep a good backup plan and if you do, your OK. But still one goes and you lose both is not good economics.

So guys, what do you recommend, RAID 0 or NO RAID 0???

Thanks!

 

No RAID 0 for me. I noticed that the system would hiccup every couple minutes when I was running stock with RAID 0. I did a clean install without RAID, and everything is plenty fast. Your OS really won't see benefit to RAID 0 since there is some overhead to it. You are better off getting an SSD instead of using RAID.

 

I was on chat with a support rep who advised me for my Envy I had an older bios and that there were 2 F16 ones, mine is dated 7-26... not sure about anyone elses setup though

 

I am unfamiliar with any other OS than Windows. I'm going on holiday today so I'll re-flash the BIOS back to F15 ( this one) in the mean time.

Thanks for your help though.

Andy

 

Ubuntu is painless and pretty easy to try. Just download the iso, burn it to disk, then insert it in the ENVY and boot from it. It will load the Ubuntu OS without installing anything and as soon as you shut down the PC everything is back to normal.

 

On the "coolest" setting, Coolsense will throttle back your laptop in order to maintain a low temp. I'm not familiar with Dragon Age, but this setting could reduce your FPS in most games. The "Performance" setting is the best for gaming. Your CPU should never go above 100deg C. 60deg C-ish is a good temp.

RAID0 will give you an immense performance boost over a non-RAID setup of like drives. Since you will have two spindles to serve up data, application load times will be faster; boot-up should be faster. As I've said in other threads, the vast upsides of RAID0 outweigh the downsides of that one possible failure (that rarely happens to most consumers).

In either configuration, the failure of one HDD in a laptop is considered catastrophic. In a RAID config, you lose both your data and OS at failure, but you gain increased system speed until that failure. The chance of a failure is relatively small. In a non-RAID config, you lose either your data or your OS. In both cases, losing your data is the worst consequence. So basically in a non-raid config you are hedging your bets by giving up system speed in order to "HOPE" that the drive that dies only has the OS. In both RAID and non-RAID, reinstalling the OS is easy cheesy if you have restore DVD's.

Personally, if you only had two like HDD's in your laptop, I would recommend a RAID0 stripe.

Then there must have been something wrong assuming you were raiding two like HDD's in your system. My home system was RAID0'd for 5+ years before I got my Envy. I do agree with your SSD comment though. A SSD will give you faster performance than a RAID0 in the Envy.

P.S. Since the Envy has a hardware raid controller, there is basically little to no overhead to the OS.

 

I would personally not recommend going back to F15. F16 specifically fixes the throttling bug that sounds like the cause of all your issues but since your problem hasn't gone away, I'm guessing your issue is not throttling. When your CPU hits 100%, what process is eating up all your resources?

Have you done a system restore since you bought the laptop?

Is Coolsense in Performance mode?

What are the temps and core clocks of your CPU's looking like? (I use open hardware monitor to view mine).

Does this only affect network streaming of music? If you switch to an Ethernet cable, does the problem go away?

If you switch over to the Intel GPU, does the problem go away?

 

Thanks cam121. I have reset the "Coolsense" settings as you recommended. Since I was not aware of what temps to be checking, I was concerned. Now that I have the info you provided, I will monitor accordingly. I am doing so with HWINFO64, which provides a lot of good info.

OK, I was booting into my BIOS and noted something, in which I need your help on. In the Envy BIOS there is a "Warranty Date". In my case that date is 07/11/2011. What does this date actually represent? Since I bought my Envy on Oct 3rd and didn't register it until Oct 6th, this date has me concerned. So I contacted HP Support via chat. They confirmed that my Envy did in fact have a Warranty Start date of 07/12/2011. When I advised him of the issue, he stated that could in fact be the "Build Date". When I asked about the likely hood of the unit being a return and than me subsequently purchasing it, it flat out said that is not a possibility, since it would than have an "R" tagged on the the product ID reflecting a Refurb.

SO, what is the deal here guys ???????????????

 

Your signature has the model with an NR at the end. If the machine were customed it would be CTO. I take it yours was a "ready ship" model. It could have been sitting in the HP warehouse for a few months before you purchased it. Much like the retail channel...the machines are "in stock" and kept in stores in limited quantity...then when supply runs out...the warehouse ships more.

I just went to the HP website and clicked to order the "Ready to Ship" model Envy 17 and that is exactly the model I was presented with...

http://www.shopping.hp.com/scat/not...JSNS92GVv7vhTpMScwlTp8HFgyXHJ1BTl4t!182320705

The only difference is now the model is 2090NR...so your model is a few months old. These models in particular are pre-built and awaiting purchase. It is very possible that they had a large quantity sitting, waiting to be sold...for a month or two...

I ordered a custom machine and mine is the Envy 17 3D 17t-2000 CTO...

As you can tell by the 2000...I purchased one of the first Envy's to ship in March / April. Think the newest ones are

17t-2100 or such

 

f.15 and f.16 are pretty much the same bios. The only real change in f.16 is that it fixed a freeze issue when the Envy came out of sleep mode...f.16 is the most up to date and a cumulative of all bios fixes...keep the f.16

As far as Coolsense in "Performance" mode. When heat builds up...the CPU is not throttled and the fans ramp up to full rpm. Worse case scenario I have ever encountered was when running Prime 95 and a direct X 10 benchmark tool With CPU and GPU @ 100%...I never saw temps above 91C and I live in Texas where heat can get pretty ugly...

 

Thanks for the GREAT explanation!!! So then from what your saying is the "Warranty Start Date" in the BIOS is probably the actual build date. Which would make sense since my unit came with the F.15 BIOS. YES, your absolutely correct in that I purchased a ready to ship unit, which is absolutely fabulous! The date just kinda caught me strange, but from what the HP Tech rep said and what you said, which explains it 100% better by the way, now makes sense..

Onto another item. I have 2 programs that got installed and immediately got deleted, however their remains are still hanging out in the "Notification" area of the task bar. When I select "Customize", I can see the remnants. I have tried Tuneup Utilities and CCleaner to get rid of them, but they are still there. Can anyone recommend a program that will erase/delete these fragments..

Thanks Guys!

 

hey h8isgr8, where did you get that wallpaper? Looks super nice.