*HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge! PART 1*

apparently there will be a bios update will fix the horizontal lines issue some of us have.

 

Yes, lugnut already contacted me on the topic, and I have placed that on the OP.

Anything to update? move? post?

 

not particularly. although i did purchase a nice backpack for this laptop.

http://www.booqbags.com/All-Products/Boa/Boa-flow-XL-laptop-backpack

 

Nice! Congrats on your purchase!

 

I have the same issue. I am hoping my 3rd Envy will keep the slice in place better.

 

Very few stickers, i think its 2 on the bottom, one with the health warning and another smaller sticker...

They are really easy to pull off without leaving any crud when new so just get rid of them

 

Is anyone else having an issue with the battery being loose when moving the laptop? I think this is a significant issue if I have to worry about losing data each time I move the laptop. I am debating on cancelling my order with dell and ordering an envy, especially with bing have cashback this friday.

 

Note that it's the optional extra battery they're talking about, not the regular built-in battery... So if you don't buy the extra battery you won't have any problems.

I think everyone has this problem with the extra slice battery. I think it's a design flaw that won't be fixed by any kind of repairs or replacements you try to arrange with HP - the battery connection must be redesigned from scratch. (Just my guess.)

 

If I was going to get it, I wanted the optional battery. The idea is pretty good, but I guess HP messed up implementing it. I don't know how something like this passed "rigorous" testing. I guess I'll stick with the xps 16, even though it has its own fair share of problems.

 

Serg - Smedis found this great sidebar gadget by Intel that display's how much turbo is being applied to our i7. It's kinda neat to see when it is throttling (and to what GHz). Could you add it to the first post for us (it's not on MS's website yet).

 

As someone who already returned an envy (with that battery) I wouldn't get that battery again. it's huge and heavy and it turns the slick, light envy into a heavy machine.
Also the 'slice' (looked more like a 'brick' to me) only slightly more than double the battery life.
Instead - why not just get another 6 cell battery ? it's cheaper, it's not like you going to carry almost 3 pounds of a slice battery in your backpack.... and it will double your battery life.

 

That's a very good idea.

 

The only problem with the idea is of course that it's not uninterrupted power, and of course 2 battery packs != 1 battery pack + 1 battery slice in terms of length of operation.

I think someone suggested before using some velcro, that I think is a good idea and may do the job - though it is a little unsightly.

The battery slice is an innovative idea; and as with most innovative ideas, the first implementation is often not very well, er, implemented. However, this is not the first implementation of the concept - they have been around for years in many other notebooks - though not as sleek and small as this one. HP should have got this one right....

 

Yeah, it would've been pretty awesome if the slice would've worked right off the bat. Sounds like a pretty easy problem to fix for HP so I'm sure they'll get it right soon. But personally I can sacrifice a brief pause to swap batteries to gain smaller size and less weight (both carrying size/weight and laptop size/weight). Of course, charging is a bit more cumbersome. Let's hope there's some good Black Friday discounts on 6-cell batteries (and the HDMI->VGA adapter)!

 

Back on page 93 (!) I wrote:

I have the battery now, but I have it removed mostly because I use the Envy as a desktop mainly, but I had a similar experience to the above at home. However, I did wonder if the locks were active--that is, it seemed like it made a difference, if I didn't quite get the assembly correct, to unlock/relock the two locks.

Also, I got the HP HDMI > VGA connector (at the time listed as only being compatible with Envy 13) and tried it on my external monitor and it worked ok, but not at the 1920x1200 resolution I'm using with the same monitor with HDMI > HDMI. I'm not sure if VGA is capable of going any higher, or that's to be expected, but it worked otherwise.

In other news, still waiting on a replacement for my defective optical drive, and experiencing no end of frustration with HP's customer service.

 

Yeah, I read that, but it just confirms that the extra slice battery slides off easily - same behavior as everyone else has reported. Some may think it's a "feature" and some may think it's a "problem" but the fact remains. Personally, I don't think this is intentional at all and I think it'll be changed in the next refresh - or even sooner if it's possible to just modify the slice battery itself...

Is this the one you got?
http://www.shopping.hp.com/product/computer/categories/cables/1/accessories/NP031AA%23ABA
It says it supports 720p or 1080p (i.e. 1920x1080, but not 1920x1200)... If it's not using the RAMDAC on the GPU (by some vendor-specific hackery I guess) and instead use its own Digital->Analog conversion I guess it can be limited in what resolutions it supports... I think 1080p would be good enough for me if I have to use VGA... Is that what you're getting?

 

i had ordered the xps 16 two months ago and after the first month went buy the canceled my order and reordered it to keep it from looking like my order was taking so long. Even so I am very happy with the envy it is smaller, lighter, and better looking than the dell. also there have been complaints that the dell power brick cannot provide enough power to the system and that the system has to throttle down the speed when plugged in. Make sure you read up there forum also just to make sure you get a laptop you are happy with. in the end i needed a laptop right away since I was using a macbook pro and those are utter garbage. So when Dell delayed my order a 3rd time I just canceled it and drove to the local best buy and bought the hp... I use vmware on this and having 12gb ram is awsome also the availability of having both a super fast ssd and a larger normal hard disk is really nice.

good luck either way you go... I will just say I am happy with my decision even with some of the problems of this laptop of course you could just buy a acer timeline for now and wait for a second generation of the envy wich would hopefully have fixed most of the issues being reported.

 

Anyone tried sticking a little grip tape on the slice where the rubber feet of the Envy sit? I just put the slice on last night. I can understand that if you slide it around a bit the locks begin unlocking themselves. This is a poor design. HP should have incorporated at minium spring loaded locks. I haven't had mine fall off yet but I have been closely watching it and see how easily this could happen. I Think some grip tape, like what is on a skateboard, put on the slice where the rubber feet of the Envy sit may remedy most of the problem. Doing this should keep the slice from moving indirectly of the Envy hence, keeping the locks from unlocking themselves.

 

It's hard to imagine that the slice went through so little testing that they weren't aware of this, though I'm not disputing that you and others dislike it, obviously. Also, my point was that, unless there are other use cases that I didn't consider, it's easily remedied by gripping the slice + laptop together before sliding.

Your link didn't work for me. I got: http://www.shopping.hp.com/store/product/product_detail/NP031AA%2523ABA which is HP HDMI to VGA Display Adapter (NP031AA#ABA) and works at 1080p which as you write is all it's supposed to do (now that I checked the page).

 

In regards to the Slice, mine works great. It disconnects if you shake the laptop slide to side with medium to heavy force. Mine never has rebooted from having the slice disconnect though. Is this rebooting limited to just a few users? Seems strange. In general, my Envy 15 has been great and I have no creaking, clicking, rebooting, blue screens, LCD "lines", etc. I think there is a lack of consistency in the initial builds but this will get worked out. For those dropping by to try and decide whether to buy this laptop, I say do your research and don't be put off by a few one off build issues.

This is in my opinion, the best Core i7 laptop available.
(2-3 months from now that may change...)

 

As an update to the creaking:
This has nearly subsided, as I expected. With MY Envy, I believe that the tolerance between the keyboard surround and the case was just a bit too close. It has now worn, probably due to me fidgiting with it compulsively, into the proper clearance.

 

My slice has disconnected a couple times inside my laptop bag. If the envy was in sleep mode it usually results in the slice shorting it out and the computer being off instead of being asleep. Which of course has data loss and OS corruption implications.

Also sometimes at night i plug it in to let it charge and sit it on it's back edge between my night stand and bed. I always check the latches on the slice before i sit it down yet sometimes when i go to pick it up in the morning it just comes apart in my hand. So the slice can be a pain, I've had my envy a week and a half and am still considering sending it back due to the slice and horizontal lines.

 

To lpb5555 : Regarding the slice sliding out when sliding the notebook sideways - I am quite sure that wasn't the intended functionality. Most of the users on this forum didn't expect that anyway.

 

Well I finally received my Envy, overall I'm in love with it except for one detail, I haven't had any of problems people have described about the slice battery moving around or falling off from the laptop, it actually feels pretty sturdy there, but my power display on Windows 7 doesn't show the second battery as present, any idea what might be the problem?

I haven't had a chance to run through the main battery to see if the slice works, I had it plugged in all night though and when you press the little button on the bottom only 2 lights come up.

Do I have a faulty battery or conector? am I gonna have to return this thing?

 

Did you pull off the tab on the bottom of the laptop so there is a contact between the slice and the laptop?

 

Yes, I took it off, I also removed the plastic adhesive that was covering the slice

 

You may have the same problem as I did.

I guess the connectors on you slice and the envy are not in contact. I had to push up from the bottom of the slice to get them connected and showed up in Windows 7.

The slice was firmly attached to the envy, but the connector is not tall enough to touch the bottom of the laptop.

 

Try this: With Windows running, press down firmly in the center of the keyboard, right over where the contact point is between the laptop and the slice. Then point to the battery status and see if the 2nd battery is present.

My first Envy 15 did this also. This would get the 2nd battery recognized, but if I lifted the laptop w/ slice off the desk an inch or more then set it back down, the 2nd battery would disappear again (because contact was broken between the laptop and slice).

 

latay,

Did you get yours resolved? Mine had this issue and a cable short issue (caused USB bus to go nuts when I adjusted the angle of the screen), so I'm getting a new one. Just curious if/how yours got resolved.

 

You are absolutely correct, that does the trick, any way I can fix this myself? I'm out of the US so returning this thing to HP would be a massive pain in the butt.

 

Nevermind, I fixed it, I put a small flathead screwdriver under each of the pins on the slice battery and gently pulled up a bit, they sort of poped up into place and now the battery works just fine

 

Good to know then, in case my replacement does the same thing, and for others who also experience this problem. So do you think the pins were just "smushed" and out of place (since you said "popped up into place"...).

 

At first I was sure I had broken the pin because it made a "pop" sound and raised about 1 or 2 millimeters in height, but I tried wiggling it around and it was set in place pretty well, I did the same thing with the rest (except for the one in the far left, that one seems to be set higher than the rest for some reason)

 

I had the same problem with my slice. had to use a screwdriver also just like fx2000


unless they can add some type of pin that will prevent the slice from moving and help guide the laptop onto the slice, i think you will still see the problem with your replacment.

 

Just received an e-mail from Bing for Cashback Nov 27 (Black Friday) thru December 2. HP: 20%, Besy Buy: 10%, Lenovo: 20%, AT&T and T-Mobile: 35%

 

Not enough

 

I just pulled the trigger and bought 2 of the Envy 15, one for me and one for my girlfriend.

We only get two model options in Australia with no customisation yet, but very happy with these specs:
820QM, 8GB RAM, 500GB 7200rpm, 1920 x 1080. Unfortunately no blu-ray drive available for us yet, so we will probably get one separately.

Expected to arrive in Christmas week.

First time HP for me, as I have had a few laptops in the past, but they have been Dell (x2) and a Uniwill, hopefully works out well and definately looking forward to it.

Quick question: Does it come with the OEM Windows 7 DVD? I probably want to format the drive and do a complete fresh install once I get it....

Thanks

 

It doesn't come with Win 7 DVD. You can DL it legally and use your legit HP serial to activate it though.

 

No Win7 disks. However, the serial number is under the battery so you can use any Win7 disks to install and activate.

But don't do a fresh install. Because:

1. You will lose HP support for any software or driver issue you may have. Bad idea for day 1.
2. There's absolutely no need. Don't fix it if it isn't broken.
3. Just uninstall Norton or anything you don't want. There's very little extra software installed from factory. There is nothing a fresh install will give you that simply uninstalling specific programs won't.
4. By doing a fresh install, you will be uninstalling software and drivers you can't get back. Don't expect everything to be available online.

At least, don't do a fresh install until you've made sure everything is ok with your machine and your free return period has passed.

 

20% is still pretty good, enough for some people to pull the trigger on a purchase over I'd think. Of course more would always be better.

On a unrelated note, it looks like those artifacting issues and display adapter failures I've been dealing with are in fact not software related and likely an actual hardware problem. So it looks like I might end up having mine get replaced potentially soon.

Do you think it'd be possible for me to ask for any upgrades (of course with me paying for them) if I end up having to get a replacement?

 

You link didn't work either... It seems the links rely on cookies. :/
But it's good to know that the NP031AA#ABA adapter works well with the Envy 15, since its list of compatible laptops doesn't include us. I might get one with the 20% Black Friday BCB then...

 

If you still have the 21 day free refund you can replace it with anything you want. If you had the BCB on your initial purchase I'd make sure to ask about changes first and record the phone conversation.

When I returned my 1st Envy they asked me if I wanted to change anything on the replacement. I declined though.

 

Thanks for the info, if I do end up being able to do it then I think I might start to seriously consider maybe stepping up to the ssd upgrade or maybe go for the beats edition if that's possible. Decisions decisions.

 

just make sure to create the restore disks (and backup, plus test them) before you do a fresh install!

 

I don't really get why doing a clean install is no good. I mean, why do you need software support? If you cannot fresh install with the drivers they provide without having issues, than that is crap. You may need to fresh install one day, and if you run into issues after your return policy you'd be screwed.

I've always fresh installed just because it's fresher than uninstalling programs and cleaning up.

Any one have experience fresh installing with the Envy 15? Everything working ok?

 

To counter, why _would_ it be a such good thing to do a clean install?
I gave a few reasons why it can bad, and I'll give another extremely simple example later in this post.

As Serg asked earlier (and never got an answer), I'll repeat the question more specifically: Did you measure any performance improvements on the Envy 15 after doing a fresh install, compared to simply uninstalling Norton, etc?

It's similar to what programmers should always ask themselves when optimizing some software they're working on. If you spend a lot of time to optimize a particular part of a program, can you really measure any noticeable improvements or was it just a waste of time that could've been spent on something more important instead? (Just my programming background peaking through here...)

Well, "why do you need software support"...? The vast majority of customers would probably like to be able to get software support. Especially during the first 21 days of their HP purchase. Like if you just got your new machine and it BSOD frequently, like Genryu here. You'd want to be able make a call to the manufacturer and work out if it's a software or hardware issue without hassle. Or let's say you do a fresh install on day 1 and BSOD the day after. Is it your fault or the hardware? Much much better to let it rest for a while and make sure everything works first.

Regarding your point about issues. I don't mean that you're going to crash your computer by doing a fresh install. I mean that you may end up with a sub-optimal result. (Besides the 4 points I gave + wasting time.)

The easiest example I can come up with is someone who buys a brand new Envy 15 upgraded to 8 GB of RAM and does a fresh install of Vista Home Premium 32-bit. I bet everyone who posts here in this forum understands why that's a bad idea. But I don't think the vast majority of customers do.

A bit more advanced examples are missing out on the tool to enable/disable the insta-boot system on the Envy 15. Or (more in general) missing out on the ability to route Line In to Headphone Out in the audio settings. Note that most of the details can be worked out, especially after the system has been out on the market for a while. My point #4 is especially aimed towards new hardware releases (such as the Envy 15)...

 

I'm still torn between this and the high end macbook pro 15"

 

How does this Bing CB work....you mean if I buy from HP site any envy for $2k they will give 20% back
H

 

If you're considering a MBP, perhaps it's a good idea to wait for a few months for a Core i7 version - it's bound to happen some day. Or make the decision that you prioritize battery life over performance and get the current MBP 15.

 

But the performance with the current high end mbp vs the envy 15 is?