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

Good to hear!

I would personally advise on a reset like Acidblast did after his upgrade as it helped with performance.

2D vs 3D doesn't make much of a difference as AMD's dynamic switching doesn't allow 3D movies. Only fixed switching can do 3D. (Unless Fritz comes back and helps me hide Intel on an ACPI level!)

The only advantage left is the 120Hz display.. which is enough I guess.

 

on average how long does it take you guys to boot into win 10 from a cold start? I just timed it and it takes me 45 sec before the system tray icons are all ready to go. I have a clean install and only have chrome and skype installed. How can I speed up the startup?

 

It takes about the same time on a spinner (normal HDD).

Part of the reason is the AMD driver. You would be astonished with the boot times if you didn't have AMD installed.

You can try setting "EnableULPS" to 0 to see if it improves the bootspeed.

Am going to look into this for the next AMD release.

 

So would you guys recommend I update to W10 already from W7? Does the secondary HDD slot work already? Because I need it. Also, does dynamic switching work properly for gaming (if there's indeed no way to get it to have fixed switching)? Can't I install the driver on the HP site to get fixed switching? Is dynamic switching able to switch quickly (without me noticing, preferably) and is it efficient when it comes to battery? What about the audio? Does the subwoofer work already? Sorry for the flood of questions, but I'm wondering whether updating is useful for me.


Anything else that doesn't work yet, but did work on W7?

 

I would recommend an upgrade and afterwards (once the machine registers for the free win licence with MS) I would reinstall from a clean ISO. Especially if you have Windows 7 HP edition.

All other questions have already been answered multiple times.

No more fixed switching since anything newer than Catalyst 14.4. Win 10 doesn't support old fixed switching drivers.

 

I don't have the HP version of W7, I did a clean install. Should I still go through the hassle of doing a clean install? What are the benefits? Because I'd have to reinstall all my programs and get my settings back right.

 

What's the difference between the HP version of W7 and a clean install of W7?

 

You need to upgrade your legit copy of Win 7 to Win 10 before doing anything so that the MS servers register your device for a free Win 10 license.

Clean install - benefits are that there won't be any residuals that can interfere with the stability and performance of Windows.

The HP version is filled with software that might cause issues on Windows 10.

 

Actually this wasn't Hp Quick launch as mentioned. The missing driver came from "Hp mobile data protection sensor". I'm not exactly sure what the driver was. I just pointed windows to check my 'swsetup' directory which I backed up. Hope that helps.

 

My W7 is legitimate, since I just used the key that HP gave me. Would a clean install of W10 be useful then, even without all that HP software?

 

Didn't I just answer that? : P

Read the last 2-3 pages for good real life example of why a clean install is useful.

 

Like @VonCrisp said a clean install is always the best install.

 

I have noticed on occasion excessive fan noise and checked CPU usage to note Windows 10 photos background taskhost was hogging the machine. No idea what it does but I cancelled process with task manager and laptop cools again. A few discussions on MS boards about it, but not sure if resolved yet?

 

The photoapp seems bugged and crashed for me a few times.

Use the Store to update the Apps. There is a newer version out but I am still not too happy with it.

You can use this regedit to restore the old win32 application if you do not like the new app.

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Change Extension's File Type
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.jpg]
@="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"


; Change Extension's File Type
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.jpeg]
@="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"


; Change Extension's File Type
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.gif]
@="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"


; Change Extension's File Type
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.png]
@="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"


; Change Extension's File Type
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.bmp]
@="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"


; Change Extension's File Type
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.tiff]
@="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"


; Change Extension's File Type
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.ico]

@="PhotoViewer.FileAssoc.Tiff"

 

OK everyone...question for you. Who has upgraded to Windows 10 and what is the status of "Switchable graphics" with the final release? I keep getting bugged my Microsoft to upgrade my Envy...but frankly...I don't want to unless I am certain that graphics drivers won't tank my machine. Way too much valuable business info and programs on this machine to take the chance and fail. I was never able to get switchable graphics to fly with Windows 8 / 8.1 so I am not encouraged. HP has done a lousy job of driver releases for one of the best machines it has ever created. Hardwarewise, this machine still holds up well against the new generation. Softwarewise...it's a bust!

 

Manual switching is long dead; dynamic only now. Not a bad thing really, I've gotten used to it and performance seems about the same.

I spent all day today messing around with Windows 10 on my envy. Put in a spare SSD and upgraded to W10 Pro and then did a clean install. Everything works fine after getting it tuned (and disabling half the damn OS).

I'm not sold on W10 though, it seems like an incomplete product that was rushed to market. Too many cons and very few pros. I really can't think of a single reason why I should use it so I'm staying on 7 for now. This machine + W7 is a rock solid beast.

At least I got my free activation out of the way. I'll give it another chance in 6-12 months and see if they make any improvements.

 

Microsoft is giving away the OS, but at what cost? There are so many issues with privacy and "hidden" settings that basically give MS a ton of information about the user. The only machine I have upgraded at this point, is my Dell Venue Pro 11 tablet. It's off most of the time. My Envy 17 3D is still strong with Windows 7, and I actually cancelled the upgrade...Funny...cancel it and now Windows update nags me that the upgrade is ready. So I have put it under hidden updates...Not gonna chance the laptop going south...

 

That's why I would only suggest upgrading to the pro version, it gives you more control over the system with access to the group policy editor. You can block or turn off the majority of windows spyware and by only using a local account I feel it's possible to get a fairly "anonymous" OS out of it.

If you copy the below text into a .bat file it will remove most of the unwanted updates on your 7 install and get rid of the Windows 10 upgrade bot. I would run the .bat, restart, and then run it again just to make sure. Make sure to uncheck recommended updates in windows update settings or they will install again.

@echo off
wusa /uninstall /kb:3050265 /quite /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3068708 /quite /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3022345 /quite /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:2952664 /quite /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3065987 /quite /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3075851 /quite /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3035583 /quite /norestart
wusa /uninstall /kb:3021917 /quite /norestart
END

 

I was not sure what you meant by update the app in store, as it is part of Win10 o/s and not available in store to update?

I eventually did nothing and the CPU overdrive went away by itself after about 4-5 days of boot ups. I suppose Win10 was cataloging my mass of photos for its photo app and has now finished. It would have polite for it to explain things instead of hogging 45% of my CPU each morning but all is forgiven.

 

I have the 2D model and was worried about the upgrade. Indeed MS never offered me an upgrade in Win7 taskbar and the GWX.exe whilst in a Win7 folder never did anything. But I wanted to test compatibility so I tried on another hard disc first and was so pleased with everything working I did the upgrade manually on my existing Win7 SP1 64 Home install and everything inc Win7 programs, desktop and data transferred without issue in under an hour. There is an option to revert back to Win7 within a month in settings but I will never take it. The AMD drivers which Win10 gets for you seem to run much better for me but I am not a gamer rather use them for graphics on mapping and 3D mapping software and find the AMD runs with Intel graphics without many issues. I was using GPU-Z app to see how each graphics was getting used. The HP runs cool and uses the AMD just when needed it seems but I am not an expert so perhaps others have different opinion.

That said I'm very pleased with Win10 from Win7 (never used Win8 ever) and my HP Envy 2280NR feels like a new laptop again.

 

There are two graphics related issues for us 3D owners...

1) Scaling is atrocious on the 1920x1080 display and requires a 3rd party fix.
2) 120Hz refresh rate is not possible unless a specific (and old) Intel driver is used.

 

Yes I was comparing dynamic switching drivers under Win 7 and Win 10.
And I was comparing it at idle time with no apps open.
But I have partially solved the problem with another clean install.
There is still a little difference between 7 and 10, but under windows 7, Coolsense was installed with its throttling capacities. I think it must be linked.

But I have a new problem with the Synpatics driver that I didn't have with the last Insider releases.
First, it's not really a problem, but the control pannel has been reverted back to the old style.
And the real problem for me, the 1 finger scrolling no longer works on the final release with the current driver.
Someone can confirm that?

 

This is actually false as I found out after writing to you on leshcatlabs.

After I triggered 120Hz via the "card on/off" trick in device manager, (I cannot recall if it was the AMD card or Intel) neither can I recall if I changed it to 120Hz in the Intel Control Panel or via Windows.

But it stuck and I am getting 120Hz on every boot with the official WU drivers. I have done no mods as I am trialing these WU drivers but I will be playing with EnableULPS next.

Am not a big fan of Coolsense ; ).

I just enabled 1 finger scrolling and it doesn't seem to work.

Control Panel has indeed reverted to the old style but that has enabled me to use the top left touchpad on/off button again.

Am using 2 Finger scrolling. I had to adjust the scrolling in the System Settings. It isn't as smooth a I would like but I guess this will improve with newer drivers.

 

That's good news. When I get the time I'll put the W10 SSD back in and see if I can get it to work.

Have you noticed on W10 that tray icon settings don't stick? Synaptics, AMD, and Intel all keep coming back after a restart even though I disable the tray icon in their respective settings.

Uninstalled it the day I got the laptop.

 

I only have the Win10 64 Home which was the upgrade from the original HP provided Win7 Sp1 64 Home. I find that if one uses the local account option rather than the online Outlook account login then privacy is much the same as in Win7? Or perhaps I am missing some things under the hood?

 

Haven't really fiddled with tray icons. If this is a windows bug then it will probably be fixed at some point.

Coolsense:



Honestly the whole Windows 7 HP Home Premium edition had to be formatted just because it kept reinstalling those damn old Intel drivers after every single clean with DDU.

God knows how annoying this issue is as it generated a blackscreen upon switching / booting if that HP Intel driver showed up without an invite.

 

Ok, it does give me 120Hz if I disable/enable intel in device manager, but it's not sticking on restart. :/

I think I need to do another clean install of 10 already with everything I've installed and uninstalled in the last two days... lol.

 

After a few restarts it went back to 60Hz for me again! .. Grrr. I guess the TotalDTD /DTD dwords have to be messed with.

Try to refresh Win 10 .. it also works pretty well!

 

Has anyone here makes a clean install with windows 10 on HP ENVY 17 3D sandy bridge? If yes, how?

Thanks in advance.

 

The same way you do it on any other PC. Upgrade using either the media creation tool or windows 10 .iso. After windows upgrades and activates, use the same media to do a clean install.

 

If I would like to keep the origin HP Envy 17 software. Could I use the recovery DVD that I created plus the Windows 10.iso?

 

So I made a halfarsed attempt at making an IDT Win 10 driver based on the newest IDT / Tempo Win 10 DriverVer=05/08/2015,6.10.6504.0 (sp71717).

Surprisingly the improvements are astonishing. The performance has gone up tremendously. No more slow downs or delays during media playback. I cannot believe that the IDT driver was the cause of all of this.

The old audio driver really seems to have been causing OS slowdowns.

The driver is a bit of a hackjob. Whilst the sound works, only half of the beats panel works. Not all jacks are recognised.

Maybe Tempo will release a new IDT driver for our devices.

It might be best to report this to MS.

Edit:
Original IDT driver is causing leaks with Windows Audio Device Graph Isolation.
Our DevID = HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_7605&SUBSYS_103C159B

Several ways to report the leak (preferabe to report to all of them)

• On Windows 10 search for Windows Feedback in the Start Menu and submit this bug!

Category>Hardware, Devices & Drivers>Audio,Sound, Volume> Search for Envy 17 2000 Upvote (Win Audio Device Graph Isolation report) / Create New report
​

• Report this on the Windows Insider Forum

• On Windows 10 search for Support. Report to live Chat Agent

 

Is anyone out there still have the guide that Bobmitch created (Hybrid RAID Array fix for HP Envy 17 / 3D / Pavillion Notebooks)? I would very much appreciate somebody could email me a copy. my e-mail: [email protected]. As the link he posted is no longer working.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=DHHGWUL4

Thanks in advance.

 

He was just active in this thread not too long ago. Why don't you send him a PM?

 

https://mega.nz/#!BZ8QTYCR!K-gfQHs4ScaBQYEh8lCf0rsM5Vs_JCTNfY0onOJ80bg

Modded IDT / Tempo driver for our devices based on http://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp71501-72000/sp71717.exe

for Windows 10!

Also it is signed.

For anyone that wants to see if it improves their performance.

 

Has anyone had a problem with trying to wake from sleep in Windows 10? The keyboard backlight lights up and the cdrom spins up, and even the wifi led turns white, but the screen remains off. My Display drivers are up-to-date.

Someone suggested this might be related to the Intel MEI drivers, and after installing version 9.5, their problem went away. I checked my Intel Management Engine drivers, and was surprised to see they were version 7.0.0.1144 (10/19/2010). It never showed up in Windows Update for some reason, but I was able to right-click and choose "upgrade drivers", and version 11.0.0.1157 (7/7/2015) was installed automatically. (I don't know why Windows update didn't do this, especially when Windows Update had no qualms about upgrading the Radeon driver automatically.) I'm not able to install version 9.5 off Intel's website, it gives me "This computer does not meet the minimum requirements for installing this software."

There's a thread on this topic here: http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebo...s-after-windows-10-update/td-p/5170030/page/3 but a lot of posters are writing about non-2xxx versions of the Envy. Mine is LM126AV (Envy 17t-2100 CTO 3D).

Has anyone encountered this problem?

Those without this problem, which driver version of Intel MEI do you use? (Device Manager -> System Devices -> Intel Management Engine Interface). And which version of Intel HD 3000 and Radeon 6800M drivers do you use?

 

Am using the WU AMD + Intel drivers and I have no issues.

I tried to search for new drivers for MEI .. no cigar.

 

VonCrisp, if you don't mind, which WU driver versions of the Intel Graphics, Radeon, and Intel MEI drivers do you have installed?

I have, all WU versions:
Intel HD Graphics 3000: ver 9.17.10.4229 (5/27/2015)
AMD Radeon HD 6800M Series: ver 15.200.1062.1004 (8/3/2015)
Intel MEI: ver 11.0.0.1157 (7/7/2015)

 

Check your email. I sent the guide. Let me know how it goes....

Bob

 

I miss this laptop. Cliché as it is to compare notebook designs to the MacBook Pro, this actually had its own look by today's standards. It was beautiful.

 

I have often thought about replacing mine with a newer model. The Envy 173D is still a marvel of hardware. Granted...HP has done a lousy job with software updates (especially video drivers), but this machine is still powerful enough to go toe to toe with even the newest models. One of the best pieces of hardware I have ever owned. The design was a thing of beauty. That is why I can't part with it.

 

19/10/2010
7.0.0.1144
These came with Win 10 it seems.

Sorry for the late reply.

The Intel and ATI drivers also came from WU and are the same as yours. I also mod in extra things such as Software Application Unlock.. this and other mods find their way into the UnifL driver packs.

It still is a nice device. The screen especially. It is very hard to move away from the 120Hz. The worst aspect of this laptop is that it only has one fan and a really bad keyboard. The D key on my 4th keyboard has a bad contact it seems.

I wish we could just replace the mobo but keep the screen.

 

I can't part with mine because I can still feel the sting of the $1600 I paid even after 4 years.

Installing that dual heatsink fan unit was one for the best things I ever did for this laptop. Handles a 2860QM and overclocked 6850 with ease. With the original fan/heatsink the laptop would shut down if I overclocked and that was when I had the 2630QM.

I'm still on the original keyboard, though my WASD keys are slightly mushy from gaming. I don't do much typing other than forum posts so I'm sure that has something to do with its longevity.

The 2860QM and 16GB of Corsair Vengeance RAM should keep this thing in the game for at least a couple more years. I was thinking about getting another SSD and setting up RAID, but RAID + SSD scares me a little since I'm horrible about maintaining backups.

Have you ever considered experimenting with an eGPU setup? I'm thinking about trying it out. The adapter is only $50 (EXP GDC Beast) and I was thinking I would just get a low end used video card off ebay to try out before spending a couple hundred on a decent one. I'm fairly sure that it would work, but I would want to use it with the laptop display and I don't know how the switchable graphics would affect that.

 

I recall that mod! The work your put into that setup was impressive.

There isn't much gaming I do these days, mostly typing stuff but the keyboards might just be of low quality for this European region.

I looked into eGPUs before. There is a software that can "remove" the internal dGPU and "inject" an eGPU in its place. It is available over on the techinferno forums. I haven't tried it.

You can keep it in a switchable config where your eGPU acts just like your dGPU. However using the internal screen you take some kind of performance loss.

Using Nvidia is suggested since the Optimus tech (dynamic switching) can carry more bandwidth over the mPCIe due to its compression. (From what I recall)

This is just from the top of my head. That forum is a really good place for that info.

I am excited for those Intel skylake platforms that are coming out. From what I understand they natively support eGPUs now via the USB-C ports / thunderbolt.

 

VonCrisp, is there anyway to use 3D (wath films etc) on Envy 17-2101er, running Windows 10?

ps sorry for my bad English(

 

Unfortunately not. Maybe at some point in the future we might be able to "hide" the Intel card from win but I haven't figured out how yet.


In other matters!

Has anyone here ordered a keyboard / spare parts from alibaba/ aliexpress ?

My 4th keyboard decided it would be fun to break down.

 

No, but there's quite a few on ebay for around 30USD. I'm probably going to order one soon.

Which version do you need?

 

Am looking for a German QWERTZ layout. I searched all the internets .. every nook and cranny. The lowest price for a german layout was 95 Euros. Normal price 125 Euros. Keyboard lost a few more keys in the process .. nope .. not passive aggression. Looks like some evil HP engineer devised some cruel plan to make things break all at once...

I pretty much wrote to every Chinese seller. Surprisingly most replied! Loads of keyboards go from as little as 10$ (without shipping or taxation costs) on Alibaba. However shipping take likes 2 months.

In the end I went for a UK keyboard since I am used to those too (they also have a big enter button unlike the US layout). It hasn't arrived and the RoyalMail might have lost it since they haven't updated their tracking in 4 days.

I want to isolate the WASD keys from the heat that builbs up underneath the keyboard. It seems to affect the contacts .. gradually wearing them out.

Maybe some kind of tinfoil wrapped in a plastic sheet type to redirect the heat?

At the same time I was thinking of replacing the heatsink as per your fine example with an Envy 17 1xxx 3 pipe sink.

Would this be the right one?

http://de.aliexpress.com/item/For-H...1-633852-001/1975505729.html?isOrigTitle=true

I lost the D key permanently. The tit is gone. The contact underneath seems fried or worn out.
The V key is awol. Tit remains - working.
B lost a tooth and is barely hanging on.
M likes to pop out when approached from the wrong angle.

Whoever designed this pos ... : D

 

Wow, you're right, that keyboard is extremely difficult to find at a reasonable price. :/

I don't have much heat in that area any more since putting in the new heatsink. Copper tape would probably be the best thing to use depending on how easily you can get some. Second best would be aluminum tape which you can find at almost any hardware store that sells plumbing supplies.

That has a different part (revision?) number than the one I ordered, but it appears to be the exact same thing. Mine is 3XSP8TATP 30. At least the one you posted is new, all of the 3XSP8TATP30 I can find are used.

I used Prolima Tech PK-3 thermal compound and it seems to be doing the job quite well. Kind of a pain to work with though; it's extremely thick and doesn't spread easily.

 

Yeah essentially I want to change the heatsink because of the heating. (Even if it is minimal & takes a year to develop)

Sharp eyes on the part number! Indeed most of the new heatsinks come from only one place .. which is china / asia general.

http://www.pchub.com/uph/laptop/88-67655-18756/Forcecon-DFB552005M30T-Cooling-Fan-.html

This also seems like new!

Thanks for the tip on the compound. Did you spread it out evenly or just a blob in the middle and pushing on the heatsink?

Someone here mentioned Gelid http://gelidsolutions.com/products/index.php?lid=1&cid=3&id=42 .

I guess I got to go to the DIY store to look for some copper tape : D. The only thing I am worried about is that it might somehow affect the mobo. I will need to make sure that it is anti static.