*HP Envy 15 Owners Lounge! PART 1*

Okay, with the CCC 9.12 the CCC reports that the refresh rate is 60hz, but the LCD hardware still states that it is running a 59hz refresh rate. Does anyone know if the panel in the Envy 15 is actually a 59hz panel? That just sounds strange to me...

Sigh...

Although it is obviously oem for HP, is it this panel? -> LP156WF1

 

Hi,

I might have an opportunity to swap my Envy 15 w/500gb disk I received early November for one I'd be sent now with two 160gb ssd's (and otherwise a similar configuration as far as I know). Is there an easy way to copy my existing disk to the new one (I'm only using 80gb of it) and quickly get up and running? It was time-consuming to move from my previous machine (Win XP) and get this Envy updated and configured the way I like and I don't want to spend that time again. I have been using Win7 Backup to an external drive with the Envy. Is it easy to restore from a full Win7 Backup (even though the new disk would be a smaller capacity than the current one)? Any other issues to consider in this?

I really appreciate the help on this forum. Thank you!

Larry

 

well I messed up my first attempt to collect some data... started charging at 9:38 at 12% battery
at 9:47 I had 22%
a 10:07 I had 45%
I then must have kicked the power cord and it lost power for some minutes before I plugged it back in. So I will work on it again and see what data I can gleem.

here is the pic of the 90watt
http://cid-e3165a620fbd7bc3.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/hp%20envy%2015/PC220302.jpg

 

Windows backup, I was unable to complete a full disk restore to a smaller drive...

I you can down load a trial version of acronis tru image 10 that will preserver the allignment of the partitions. True image will allow you to restore to a smaller destination. the demo only works for a few days, i ended up just buying it since it was pretty usefull.

 

Man, having temp 85 - 95, is crazy for a laptop. That makes it a desktop and never get to put it on the lap..ahhaha

 

I bought and used Acronis True Image Home 2010. My 1st Envy went bad and I didn't want to have to re-do everything I had put into getting it up and running. So I went down to Best Buy and bought it. A few tips if you use Acronis:

1. You'll definitely want to back up to an external USB hard drive. Everything else (DVD, network) is so time consuming. Purchase or borrow someone else's external USB drive if you don't own one.

2. After you install Acronis, register on their web site. Then go and download the latest build and install it before doing anything else.

3. Once the latest build is installed, create a boot CD within the application.

4. Boot to the CD and start your backup. Make sure you do not select the "sector by sector" option. I made 2 images for mine, one with this and one without ("without" is the standard way, which is just file-by-file). I couldn't restore with the former onto the my new Envy, but could with the latter.

5. Once your replacement arrives, restore from your image, making sure you are putting the right partitions back in the right place. You may want to start off with just a restore of your main partition and not overwrite the restore partition on the SSD.

6. Someone earlier posted another tip with the conversion from spinning drive to SSD with an image restore: on the first boot, force Windows 7 to go into Safe Mode. That way it can install the SSD drivers that wouldn't have been active on your image. After they install, reboot and login.

7. Later you'll want to back it up again so you won't have to perform step 6 again if you plan on keeping your full backup for the long run.

Acronis does allow you to back up within Windows, but having never used this program before my Envy, I just don't know if I can trust that. The system is in a running state, has files open, etc. I just prefer the "boot from other source" option like the Acronis boot CD, which is more or less the way programs like Norton Ghost also do images.

Does anyone know if running a full system backup with the system running and while logged in is just as safe as from the Acronis boot CD?

 

Does no one have any ideas? Could you point me in the direction of someone who might know? Thanks!

 

I ran my last backup restore from inside windows... did the whole image including all of the hidden partitions. I just downloaded the latest version from the website and then purchased it through there online store.

 

Have you loaded the HP Mediasmart MVP and the HP Tone Control?

The Tic/Enye button is linked the the Mediasmart MVP, and I *think* that the Tone Control works the mute button light...

If for nothing else, the Mediasmart MVP can be used when calling up Mediasmart DVD Player which I use to play DVDs and Blurays.

 

You could try going into BIOS setup and switch the function keys back to normal (no fn button combo for f1 - f12), if the light goes out then try switching back to original mode.

 

Can anyone using CPUID HWMonitor please check your readings for the CPU wattage at idle, My CPU never shows less than 15.34 watts and according to Intel spec it should drop down to the low mW range per core at idle.

If this is an accurate reading at idle it might explain the very poor battery life when just doing basic tasks. Intel shows several modes that should be using less power than this (all driver/bios controlled).

Any other recommended programs to double check my readings in CPUID?

Also my Max watttage never goes above 55.04W is that what your getting?

 

It's still on order so I can't compare yet. But I did have the Envy 15 for 21 days.

I got the base model M15x +4GB RAM for total (tax + shipping) $1,275. So I feel it's a good deal compared to the $2k I payed for the Envy. Even though it's monster thick, I'm only using it as a desktop replacement. I got a good price and the performance should be great. I don't really need 6GB RAM ATM, but I can upgrade to 8GB later if needed.

The main thing that bothers me about the Envy 15 is that you can't use TRIM with the dual HDD's. Also if you wanted a SSD/HDD setup, the 1.8" HDD's don't have much space ATM. Once they have 500GB+ 1.8" HDD's, I'll really like a setup with 1680GB SSD, and 500GB+ HDD. I want TRIM support on the SSD though.

For now I'll settle for the i7 M15X with esata or usb external HDD and X25-m 80GB internal w/TRIM support.

 

Thanks, DinTuscAl, for this detailed info--very valuable!

And eagle17, I appreciated your two comments too-thanks.

I'll also be sure to start off by creating restore disks on the new machine so I have something to go back to if there's a problem.

I hope I am able to get the replacement machine and carry this out and will report back if I do.

Thanks!

Larry

 

Rage i've been trying to get that ati driver working with some of the information you provided. Admitadaly I wasn't exactly sure what I was doing however i'm normally quite technically competant. But the process did not go well and resulted in a number of crashes to the point where I could no longer start windows. Fortunately a system restore solved the issue. Now I think i'm going to leave the display driver update, until the process has been perfected a bit more
Alan

 

15.34 is the min shown for me too

 

I noticed performance on battery is not very good. So started realtemp, cpuid, etc. and noticed that the multipler is fixed at 7, won't move from there, so all I get is 930MHz on batterty? Is this normal?

As soon as I plug the power brick in, multiplier goes back to 12 normal.

 

That's the exact opposite thing that is going on with the XPS 1645. Runs full on battery, and it throttles on AC power.

 

Thanks for your quick replies...I now have the envy tick button working but still have the mute button light permanently on...I installed the tone control (I think this was the right one http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&os=4063&product=4041402 ) but that didn't do anything, unless there is some option somewhere?

I tried to go into bios setup but I couldn't get in there...I held down the F1 and F2 keys when it was booting up but that didn't do anything! How do I get into the bios settings Thanks again for your help

Cheers Olly

 

f10 key at boot up for bios on hp.. no need to use te fn key either.

also on mine if you hit esc key it gives you menu.

 

are we sure that those apps can read the proc info correctly? I am not seeing that with either the intel i7 widget nore sandra. both show the processor cores at 1.60 at ide.

I am showing a mutiplier rating from 13-21 and a max wattage of 45w in sandra.

you shul not see multiplier of 7.

 

Intel Turbo Boost Monitor gadget linked in the first post here, cpuid-z, and realtemp show the multiplier at 7 on battery, idle or loaded not matter what I do. I guess I'll try Sandra, but I am worried about this now. I am wondering if there is something wrong with my system. Anyone else seeing this? I am running the F07 bios.

 

tried Sandra, also reports multiplier at 7 (on battery)

 

well maybe if I do more research before I post I won't look like such a tool....

I am seeing the same thing in sandra ... on battery multiplier is set at 7 also my benchmarks confirm that the speed is nearly half. this is not too good.

 

Multiplier is controlled by power plan. Try Performance and Power saver on battery and check if it makes any difference.

 

Has the new BIOS fixed the poor SATA performance issues exhibited on Intel SSDs?

 

Hey! Tried disabling the the function keys in the bios but the light on the mute button stayed on even though it was disabled Guess I will just have to put up with it or try hp support...Thanks for your suggestions!

 

tried that wth no luck.

however after doing some research ths looks like the lfm frequency.
lfm = low frequency mode

if the lfm is still producing 15watts I can see why our batteries are getting eatin up.

This is not a poblem with the envy but with the i7 processor.

 

Ya, changing power plan settings did not do anything. I am quite sure this is not normal. The XPS 16 actually performs at full potential on battery.

I mean the machine can't even catch up with my typing a document in MS Word, so that tells me something is wrong. Perhaps a setting or something?

 

Eagle17, Is the "1.6" reading your getting in Watts or Volts? If Watts that is a total of 12.8W at Idle which is still way above what intel specs for low power mode, depending on the configuration the mother board vendor chose to use the idle state should be in the 20mW to 2W range.

I have spent the last hour with tech support and they are looking into it and will get back to me -- they do agree that 15W way to high for idle mode and could be causing the big discrepancy in battery life numbers that have been published.

Anyone interested may want to try running this built in power management test built into Windows. It will give you a detailed report of all your power using issues and errors in the system--

Type CMD in the Start menu search bar and hit return>

Command prompt window opens (must be logged in as admin.) -- at command prompt type: powercfg -energy

hit return and it goes into a 60 second test mode and will give you the location of the full report it created.

Will try to attach my report to this post (.pdf file) hope this works.

Any thoughts/help would be welcomed.

JJ

 

Quick note of thanks to JJ & Eagle for looking into this.

 

Is there a way to update the BIOS to F.07 without downloading the file from HP? I can't seem to download it.Can the notebook update the BIOS itself?

 

I'm not really sure I understand this right, but if you want the processor to run at full tilt : In power settings - advanced, change the processor power management setting to : Min: 100%, Max: 100%

It doesn't sound right about the typing though, 50 % Min setting should be no problem at all (anything below 50 % does nothing..)

 

I'm getting the same readings.

 

I tried that already. Min/max set at 100. Do you see mult more than 7 on battery? Maybe I'll open a dedicared thread. Dont see enough interest here.

 

Hmm. I'm seeing the same as you.

Anyways, I'm guessing it's a bit slow here because of the Xmas and such -

Merry Christmas all

 

Ok after doing a little more research it looks like our systems are going into a lfm c-state. this is supposed to happen when the processor core gets an mwait command allowing it to idle. you can see this whenever the systems is plugged in and as soon as you start using the system the processors leaves the state and speeds up. however when in battery mode it apears to not get the correct info... and it stays in the lfm state without waking. this is not normal and as we see the speed is affected. the power issue may be part of this but I am not sure that 15w is too high for ths processor. according to intel documents lfm states can generate up to 35w.

 

Has anyone here tried http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=64753 ? My drives are still nowhere near full so I haven't run into SSD performance degradation issues yet.

 

I don't see a reason why that woudn't work. a good workaround for those with intel g1 drives or raid drives.

I am using a vertex with win7 and GC running in the bios but with this type of solution I would not be affraid to get the intel g1 drives even in the raid setup.. now the bigger question is can the sata controller keep up with raid drives.

 

Well, the risk is that if it doesn't work you just filled your entire drive with garbage, putting it into the worst possible state. For example, do all SSDs use the blank state to represent 1?

 

Good info Eagle. Does it sound like a BIOS issue? I re-flashed F.05 and did not make any difference. I am not familiar with HP support. I wasn't able to find a forum on their site, I found one that seems to have info for all notebooks. Wondering if there is something more dedicated to this line that could get more visibility from them to report things like this.

 

I am not sure about that i have not followed the intel SSD story as closely as the ocz one.

it would be an interesting question for either of the softrware venders referenced.

 

Yeah I flashed .05 .06 also just to see... i think it is definatly a bios issue and this is the same issue causing problems with the people wanting to run linux.

hopefull hp will get around the problem soon.

On a side note I am not sure that the power issue will be solved by this and in fact there is potental for the power increase if the speedstep workded correctly... so we could see battery times go from 1:45min to 45min while under constant use..

this will be interesting to see unfold.

 

I will ask the HP folks after the holidays, but as someone who works in tech I don't have much hope for getting an official answer to an unsupported, risky hack. If they say it works and is safe and someone fries their drive with it, they look bad.

 

Hi guys,

I recently bought an HP Envy 15 (french version) and I'm very pleased with it so far. Nevertheless, I couldn't find any software or indicator showing the remaining battery lifetime (I mean, there is a percentage showed but it doesn't say how many hours/minutes remain). I already tried with HP Battery Check, but it doesn't work. So I've installed a widget but I must say that this lack is quite annoying. Did anyone find a software ? Or is there even an installed software ?

Moreover, is there an other way to manage your battery, apart from the Windows thing ?

 

Hi Florian --

The batteries advanced settting can be found as follows;

click on the battery symbol in task bar > click on 'more power options' > click on 'change plan settings' (across from plan your using) > this page give basic options, Click on 'Change advanced power settings' and you can set up all features for plugged in or battery powered modes.

As far as time remaining meters thier is not one that I know of, these are generally gimicks anyway since the amount of power your using is constantly changing so your time remaining will vary. With a percentage reamining at least you know how much charge is left in the battery.

JJ

 

Thanks for your reply JJB; I know that the time remaining may vary depending on how I use the laptop. But knowing -even imperfectly- how long my battery will last before I've to put it on the mains is important. I was a bit surprised because I've never seen a laptop which didn't provide this information. Looks like it won't be possible here

 

Eagle17;

I believe you're correct, in part, regarding the 'lfm C' state and the total power that could be drawn except for one important thing, that number of 35W is for all 8 cores....when the cpu powers down to idle it should only have 1 active core which monitors the demand for processing, this would use 1/8 the power or under 5W max. and much lower in the other standby power states (4 or 5 other low power states available).

I have not had time to do further research on the processor but a couple of things I want to confirm are:

1) Is the CPU BIOS a firmware bios that is seperate from the system (i.e. F .07)? -- as far as I know it is, which would mean that changes to the system bios won't make a difference.

2) Are these 'power state' settings possibly controlable by some hidden utility in Win7 ?

3) Has anyone run the powercfg -energy test (instructions posted by me a couple pages back) and did they get the same type of error messages as I posted?

Still wating on HP tech support to respond -- will advise what they have to say when I get it

 

well in general the you get about 1 hour 30mins on a full charge, so if you have 50% left yo have 45mins actual time. Or you can "assume" 20 mins per 20% to make it easier, of course this is not accurate and depends on what your doing but really thats all that a those countdown timers do.

btw im sure you can get addon programs to do this, not sure about win7 though

 

got my new envy today.. left side is heating quickly.. i'll update the firmware.

 

My daughter was using my HP Envy 15 earlier today on her homework. She used Monsters iClean to clean the display. It looks like some fluid may have gotten behind the plastic that covers the screen. My wife feels she may have just pressed too hard. The screen still functions though a small portion of the left side appears discolored. I do have an extended HP Warranty that includes accidental damage.

Is there anything I can do to repair it? Will it dry on its own or is it permanently damaged? If HP authorizes me to return it do they supply a shipping label and/or box?

I planned on buying my daughter a new laptop in January but my repaired Envy will now be hers and I will buy myself a new Envy.

Happy Holidays everyone!