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

It's actually quite easy to clone (bit-by-bit) the HDD, using freely available software like Clonezilla. It requires a tad of know-how though. I did it once when upgrading to a larger HDD.

 

EASEUS Partition Master Home Edition and/or Macrium Reflect (both free for personal use) trivialize the entire process.

 

Well, the byte-wise backup is not harder than any other, but it requires much more space.
Acronis TrueImage Home is my preferred tool (never saw a better one ), but that's not freeware.

 

Using the hp software to make recovery discs as soon as I start it up for the first time...

Entire drive being c:/ and also the recovery partition that's already there. Its only gonna have the 750hybrid drive

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If you are still in the 21 day exchange period you can simply return it and do a new order with the current $450 off coupon for the 32xx model. Add mrrebates to it and get additional 7% off. Or simply keep trying as the 33% coupon was good for the 32xx series and just ended last week. If you have a AMEX A OPEN card you get another 11%. My point here though is there was a 33% off code for the new series so if it is something you can and wish to pursue you now have this information.

P.S. The gpu is soldered in & can't be upgraded unless you drop in a 32xx motherboard which would be price prohibited. Also the 32xx 3D versions unlike the sandy bridge models do not have switchable graphics and a lot of people are pretty mad. This was just found out and as for now there is no fix. The 32xx non 3D versions does have switchable graphics.

 

The sales department refused to budge and the tech support case manager refused to budge as well. They said I had to pay the FULL retail price for the -32xx model even if I wanted an exchange in which they'll credit me the lower price I paid for the -3000 model. Would Not even accept the new sales code I found!
HP is so messed up in their sales!

I already tried the code I used and it was "invalid" as it did not apply to the "newer" -32xx model but the just phased out "-3000" model. Did a search for other codes and None of them came close to the 33% net tax as the closest was ~23% net tax.

I'm not a gamer so I don't mind as much.
Just needed a desktop replacement for my relatively aging PC and the laptop handles relatively well at the moment.

Don't have BD player since there's no need of one and I don't game and don't need 3D version. So.. for a non-gamer... does it really matter as it meets my needs?

I still have ~14 days to think it over.

 

Hey guys
Is it possible to deactivate all the beats audio stuff?
I'm working with audio and I need to get a "raw" sound output.
Even when I deactivate Beats and all sound enhancements there is some kind of compression activated on the headphones outputs.

 

If you don't play games with it, the 30xx will fit your needs. The 32xx update is more interesting for gamers (new discrete graphics card) since Ivy Bridge isn't that much better than Sandy Bridge.

Did you just try beats options or Windows options, too?
Maybe uninstalling the HP audio drivers may help, so that a standard driver is used.

 

I would like you to get/have what you want and should be available to you. My intention is just for you to be fully informed as it sounds like HP is giving you the run around. If you are in the 21 day trial period HP can not deny you a full refund. I think perhaps your difficulty is coming from trying to exchange it for a 32xx. If you keep the two transactions separate you can if you wish get a 32xx. If you call or do a chat with HP simply call and say you the current laptop does not fit your needs and request a return. You can add that you will buy a 32xx if the honor the 33% but if they say they can not honor it simply continue and tell them you want to return it. That will get your money back and get the laptop returned. Now you can start a completely new order not related to your original. Currently there is $450 off coupon code. A nicely configured non-3D with I7 runs $1670 which is about 27% off but will be less if you add more. mrrebates will give you an additional 7% for a total of 34% off. By the way the % off coupon codes never did apply to extra warranties. As someone else pointed out I also believe that the 3000 will do what you want but there are other things a ivy bridge has going for it like native USB 3 support (boot capabilities) to just name one. I think you are fine but if you want the 32xx don't let customer reps tell you you can't. While no one can say for sure it has been the pattern lately for HP to do a rotation of 33%, %30, and $450 off codes so if you take a chance you probably can get the % off code next change around.

 

I kind of solved my problem. Install the Asio 4 All driver and use a media player that supports Asio (foobar2000)...
There is a noticable latency with this driver but it's way better than the IDT.
Also I can use the IDT driver for the internal speakers which is much better than the windows standart but
if anyone can provide a better no latency solution please let me know.

 

Ok, none of you answered this question. I don't want to use third party software whether it be freeware or payware. When i boot up for the first time, and i make my recovery discs, does the image include the recovery partition?

 

Now I'm tempted but I'll wait until near the 21 day return window and see what happens.

Thank you all for the suggestions!

 

Looks like a new coupon will be released on the 25th

 

I have a problem with my 32xx where if I start playing music I will hear some sort of static noise from right speaker. Simply trying to play music and stopping it will activate this static noise which goes away after a few seconds. Anyone else has this?

 

this is weird... not a single post here today...

 

Nope, don't have that problem...

 

I decided to exchange it anyway... another few weeks of wait.

 

The black lid on my Envy picks up fingerprints and oil like crazy. What's the best way to wipe it down or clean it, so that it looks like new again?

 

Probably water and a microfiber cloth. It's an unending battle though with most laptops. Just keep your hands clean

 

I must note to the 32XX owners that the clickpad "tweak" isn't necessary. we have 2-finger right click, the ability to move below the button line and multiple other gestures that seem to work quite smoothly

 

for a matte finish, this is on par with glossy, but harder to clean

 

Traitor!!! You got a Retina mbp lol

 

Ha ha...I "Like" the comment...

 

I'm considering the ret mbp & becoming a traitor too seeing HP has once again pushed my ship date back 2 more weeks. Is it true that the ram is soldered in and the battery is glued down on the mbp ret so you can't remove/change/upgrade? This is what one review said?

 

I'm tempted my the MBP Retina myself, but I can't imagine the screen looks that much better than the one we have.

 

Yes. Everything is proprietary. Apple will have you by the precious parts.

 

Not sure I stated my question right. The article said the battery was glued down & the ram soldered in so in other words there were no user upgradable or changeable parts even if you did buy them from apple. The article said if you ordered one with 8 gb ram than that's it, no upgrade later by you or apple tech using any parts. Do you know if this is true?

 

Ah ok well no. The RAM will be permanent. The SSD i assume can be upgraded later in time, but it has a proprietary interface with the motherboard. Obviously there isn't anything in the market yet. And yes the battery is glued down.

MacBook Pro 15" Retina Display Mid 2012 Teardown - iFixit

 

Thanks for the clarification and link.

 

I recall there being at least one post on SATA III in the new 3200 but the forum search function is not working for me so I apologize in advance.

Regrettably (now), my 3200 already shipped prior to my reading this forum but I can confirm that the secondary SATA is governed to 3Gbps. What a shame because I was really pleased with the entire OBE until it was time to migrate my twin 520 SSDs

Exceptionally disappointed. Such a ridiculous design decision as the HM76 chipset is capable of handling two 6Gbps drives and more. If I recall correctly, there was also a post that someone's benchmarks exceeded 3Gbps. Unfortunately, benchmark on my 3200 maxed at 2.8Gbps...the XPS secondary came in a 5.5Gbps. And there's no configurable parameters in BIOS for the controllers.

This was going to replace my XPS and I was holding out for the 17" Ivy Bridge version but Dell decided the Inspiron SE was enough (another ridiculous decision...one of Dell's many recently). Despite the phenomenal deal I received and the disappointment of my anxious XPS buyer, the 3200 is being returned. In a sense, I got what I paid for.

Suppose I'll take a look at the ASUS G75. Worth a few hundred $s knowing that I have a system which isn't irrationally handicapped.

 

Could you please expound on your comments please. My original order included the hybrid mechanical (Seagate ST750LX003 ) which SHOULD operate at 6GB/sec and only registers as 3GB/sec. I installed my 6GB/sec SanDisk Extreme as the second drive and it TOO also registers as 3GB/sec??? I am not sure where your comments are coming from, or the results I am seeing.

Thanks
j

 

Yes, im also finding this too... 3Gb/s instead of 6Gb/s -_-

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My SSD works properly 6GB/sec as Disk 0, but only 3GB/sec as Disk 1. The Hybrid ONLY @ 3GB/sec in EITHER...

 

I've got an Ivy Bridge equipped ENVY 17, and I'm interested in putting in multiple hard drives and an mSATA drive. Forum isn't letting me search, so I've had to just poke around and get bits and pieces of info. I need you guys to help me answer a couple questions so I can figure out what to do here.

Ideally, I would like to install a 128GB mSATA boot drive, with two 7200rpm hard drives running in RAID 0.
If that's not feasible (or if it will screw my battery life) I may just go with one SATA III SSD and one traditional hard drive.

What I've found in the forums so far:

• One SATA port runs at SATA III (6GB/s).
• The other SATA port only runs at SATA II (3GB/s).
• My Hybrid Seagate 750GB drive is crippled by custom-HP firmware, so it only runs as SATA II (3GB/s), even though the retail Momentus XT runs at SATA III (6GB/s).

So, here are my questions:

• Which SATA port runs at 6GB/s, and which one runs at 3GB/s?
• BIOS has no RAID settings, but I know that HP sells this computer with RAID arrays installed - is it possible for me to install two aftermarket drives in RAID 0?
• Does anyone know the speed of the mSATA port? Is it 3GB/s or 6GB/s or something different altogether?
• Are there any obstacles to using mSATA as my boot drive?
• How badly would two 7200rpm drives affect my battery life?

Apologies if these have all been answered already - like I said, I can't seem to search the forum at all.

 

Update on the 3D version ...

The quick Ship version of the Envy 17 3D still says its has switchable graphics..Is it True..? Can anyone who has ordered the Quick ship version verify this ?

Why would they have the Switchable Graphics on the quick ship version and not the CTO version ?

Now HP is pissing me off and I am sure others too.
Is the HP management retarded or what..?

Yeah I said that.

The link to Quick ship verison HP Envy 17 3D 3290nr

HP ENVY 17-3290nr 3D Edition Notebook PC | HP® Official Store

 

All the above can ASSUME to be true UNLESS somebody else can prove otherwise. When the laptop is positioned face down on the table with the battery access panel OFF ... The disk bays are to the left and the battery to the right. The LEFTMOST disk bay can accomodate a 6GB/sec drive. The bay to the right of THAT drive only operates @ 3GB/sec. Another INTERESTING anomaly is that it SEEMS the boot drive can exist in EITHER of those bays!! I tried to clone the original (hybrid)drive and then installed my SSD in the leftmost bay and moved the hybrid to the rightmost bay... the system STILL booted from the Hybrid!?! I disconnect the hybrid drive and tried to come up with Only my cloned SSD in the leftmost bay, and although it did come up, it reported that it was NOT a genuine copy of Win7 and hung. I ended up (re)loading the SSD from the restore disks I made.

My working configuration as it now exists, is with the SSD, loaded from the recovery disks, in the leftmost bay (running @ 6GB/sec), and the hybrid drive installed in the rightmost disk bay (running @ 3GB/sec). Any other info I could provide would only be guesses.

(Also, even though you [would THINK you] SHOULD be able to replace the disks without removing the other (6 screw) access panel, that proved NOT to be the case for ME anyway... which is necessary to remove in order to access the memory and 6300 wireless cards)

 

So they cut off both legs and seriously crippled it. First jacked the HD with firmware that steps it back to 3gb, then jacked bay 1 so even if the HD would do 6gb it would fall back to 3gb when you put the SSD in bay 0. Way to go HP.

 

After restoring form the discs to the SSD do you still have the Recovery partition ..?

 

I restored to Factory Image because I wanted to make sure that I still had the Adobe PhotoShop/Elements. Yes, it created an identical setup to what shipped on the hybrid, only with the Win7 partition smaller, because my SSD is only 240GB. To be fair, I didn't test if the Recovery Partition really works or not... but I suspect it does.

(For reference, I performed a similiar/same cloning operation/procedure on my previous SB dv7qe-6000, and IT worked perfectly ... i.e., I didn't need my recovery disks)

 

"Only" 240gb.. That is still respectable zoom zoom zoom

 

Thanks Jerohm. Much appreicated on the drive bay info.

Cheers to us power users. We get frustrated by even the most pristine consumer-oriented hardware. If only there were well-made laptops that were as configurable as desktops. I'd still probably pick the ENVY if I had it to do again, but I just don't get why on earth they'd put a slow port on a fast controller, and why they'd put a slow firmware on a fast drive. I mean, the performance differences are not enough to make me return the machine, but more to just make me scratch my head - what the hell is up with these engineers? Why would you remove speed from something that has the capabilities?

SATA II is still more than fast enough for traditional drives, so everything's not lost. I guess I could always install a 256GB mSATA and stick a couple velociraptors in those crazy bays, lol. Wonder how hot it would run?!

I guess the questions I still need to find answers to, are: is it tricky/straightforward/impossible to install two SATA drives in RAID 0? and What are the specs on the mSATA drive, and is there a trick to making the laptop boot from there first?

 

thans Jerohm...Repped..

 

Thanks for bringing it up.Even I want to know the answers to those.

So has anyone tried to install an mSata as the Primary drive yet..??

 

A few days ago I saw a post of a guy who used a MyDigitalSSD Bulletproof series mSATA drive, along with a 2.5" SSD and a regular hard drive. The guy said there were some complications, but I don't remember exactly what.

And now, I can't find the thread again.

I can't seem to search. I keep getting error messages every time I try to run one. Is the forum's search messed up? Or can I just not search since I'm a new user?

But, on the topic of mSATA drives, I've been doing some research. You mostly see Intel 310s, OCZ Contis, and a few others by Samsung and Kingston. But the fastest seems to be the MyDigitalSSD Smart Series. They're built by ADATA, using Sandforce 2281 controllers and top-shelf NAND flash modules. They perform in line with the top SATA III SSD's on the market right now, whereas most mSATA SSD's are barely able to pull half that speed. They're also very affordable, by mSATA standards - about twice the cost per gigabyte of standard SSD's.

 

Forgot this - I think there was something about having to buy a mSATA to 2.5" SATA adapter card, in order to load it up and get it functioning.

 

My unit was supposed to today...no updates till now... HP is so consistent in the wrong way...lol

 

Sorry for late reply...been a bit preoccupied. I had an opportunity to speak with HP tech support and confirmed that my system shipped with only SATA II enabled on the secondary (closest to battery). Though I could not get a definitive confirmation, I interpreted what was disclosed that IF I had ordered the Hybrid & SSD option, then both interfaces would be SATA III.

If true, then HP is no better than Dell with those absurd decisions. Is anyone aware of a modified BIOS (either available or in the works)?

 

So, Bilwyboy, if I'm reading you right, you're saying there is a chance that, if you order certain configs from HP, that they may be installing a different BIOS/Firmware that may enable 6GB/s speed in both ports?

 

Sorry Bilwyboy for budding in...

This is the issue. The laptop uses the HM76 support chipset. It has 2 SATA III and 4 SATA II ports. Typically you can only attach 1 device to 1 port... you CAN have multiplier hardware which allows more than one device to attach to a single SATA port, BUT they would share the maximum port bandwidth among all attached devices ... makes sense?? Okay, so the real question is why didn't they utilize the two 6GB/sec SATA III ports, one for each hard drive bay??? ... UNLESS the mSATA cache is attached to the other fast port... which is at least plausible. I would expect the port assignments to be hardwired in any case.