*HP HDX DRAGON Owners Lounge, Part 1*

Don't think so, here they are - thank you for your continued interest!

HP Pavilion HDX 9494NR
T8100, 4 GB, 320 GB 5400 rpm HD (upgraded to 640), Nvidia 8800GTS 512MB

 

Anyone know the best NVIDIA driver to use? I was using 179.44 on Vista and had no problems with it but I THOUGHT there was another after that but before the beta 179.48 one currently up. Also how are you supposed to know which Physics driver goes along with it please? Thank you.


EDIT: http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22920

Like how are you supposed to know which Physics driver goes with this OR if it even comes with Physics already? Thanks.

 

Thanks 2.0

 

Most of the drivers that come through LV2G are stripped of the PhysX, so you have to download stand-alone. They average in the 40MB range, so if the driver you are DLing is not in the >70-80MB range, it probably doesn't include it. But you can get the PhysX drivers here: http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showforum=95

I am using the HP 179.32 at present. It is the best all-around driver I have used and haven't had any gaming/program issues. I tried the 179.44, but the screen brightness defaulted to darker(ala powersave) and I couldn't change it no matter what I did. So I went back to the .32.

LV2G's description of the .44 says it is for Quadro workstations, but the .inf has a butt-ton of supported GPU's and is WHQL, that's why I tried it. But the bottom line is, no one can answer what the best driver is. If the driver works for you and doesn't cause games or programs to crash, the temps are in range for what you like, and the colors look pleasing to the eye, then that would be the main criteria, in my opinion. And believe it or not, what works for one, may not be optinum for another.

Hopefully I have made myself clear as mud.

 

which drivers give the best temps?

 

T8100 should be able to handle things.

Question: In your power plan profile, check the settings under porcessor power management under max processor state and make sure they are set to 100%.

If it's set to 50%, then you're only using half its power.

Also, when you are playing, check to see that the CPU is maxing out its frequency periodically. D/L CPU-Z: http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

 

For me, 179.32, by 4-6 degrees C.

 

Yea thats what I figured since they have a separate link also for physx. But is there a way to know which physx they assigned to the officially listed one on NVIDIAs site that was bundled with the GPU driver? Hmm I don't know that I've had the brightness issue but I noticed when I unplugged my chord it would go slower but I don't know if thats GPU related. It seemed to make my CPU shoot up really high for some reason. Do you or anyone else happen to have the 179.44 and/or 179.32 that came from NVIDIAs site? I'd love to get a hold of them for both Vista Ultimate 64 bit and XP 32 bit. I tried the 179.48 betas in xp 32 bit and it was cooler than anything I've tried before..but I have nothing else to compare it to via an XP 32 bit environment. Haha no I understand Thanks.

 

NOT compatible with Windows 7!

QuickPlay 3.7 v.6112
http://docs.cyberlink.com/cinema/hp/quickplay/QP_361_upgrade/hp/enu/item3.jsp?Region=N

 

Did you mean, "NOW" instead of "NOT"?

 

No I meant NOT. It does not work under Windows 7 (DVD/Blu-Ray) and freezes often.

 

In response to a support ticket, CyberLink replied, "at this time HP QuickPlay does not support Windows 7."

 

Hi All,

I'm wondering what people consider is the best practice concerning the power supply brick.

When turning the laptop off do people keep the brick plugged into the wall (hence a low-level of use/wear) or do people unplug it or use a power strip with a switch?

Also, my brick does occasionally make the light crackling sound that others have mentioned, does this indicate a real problem or is it more akin to a transformer that by its nature can be noisy?

In my case the brick was received with the refurb. laptop I just purchased so I haven't put any real use on it. New ones are still available from HP for ~$90 but I might still be covered under my 90 day if its actually considered a faulty brick.

thanks, Cliff

 

Hi everyone! Been trying to read through the 524 pages and I apologize if this has been asked, I bought the orignal HDX Dragon with the HD DVD and was wondering if I can replace it with a blu-ray burner. Does HP have a blu-ray burner for the dragon or is it just a blu-ray rom? Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

It can be battery problem.
In my case there is crackling sound when level of charge is within 80-98%

 

You need to calibrate your battery to your system about once every 6 months, or when it shows symptoms like your showing now. Most people don't even know about it, let alone know how. It's a fairly simple procedure though - what you're doing is calibrating the system power meter to the battery itself.

You can read the procedure for it at this link: Calibrating the Notebook Battery

 

Compare dates on the video driver and the PhysX drivers I linked to. Those drivers will have the latest PhysX available at the time. (Actually, I just looked, and the PhysX version is in the driver release notes beneath the download. 179.48 = v9.09.0010, 179.28 = v8.09.04).

The .44 and .32 drivers didn't come from nVidia. They are official HP drivers for various model rigs (mobile and desktop), and linked on the LV2G site.

179.44 V64: http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22922

179.44 xp32: http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22920

179.32 V64: http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=22783

179.32 xp32: not available

 

Thanks I guessed that the similar dates they were posted would be a hint but I wasn't sure at all. Hmm really? I thought I got .44 directly from NVIDIAs site when they were posted last month or so for notebooks, which were replaced by the .48 ones they have up now.

 

There is an HP Support Bulletin concerning the Battery buzzing sound issue that we've all been aware of for quite some time now I found a couple of months back. Apparently, they don't consider it a problem, but we do know that HP has replaced battery units for this at customer's request. Although the bulletin was originally posted for XP systems, it sounds close enough to be the same thing. Only each person can decide.

Apparently the noise comes from the adapter's capacitors vibrating when the system is at certain power profiles and resource use. One thing I don't think we've done here is to cross-check which systems were having the problem with the adapter. If we do and find that it's particular to a certain configuration or CPU, that'll narrow down the cause.

You can view the HP Support Bulletin at this link: High Pitched or Buzzing Sound in Windows It recommends changing thepower scheme and provides directions on how to do so to avoid vibration noise from battery use in notebooks running Windows XP. Again though, even though it was released for XP systems, the similarity can't be coincidence. Power is power, regardless of whether it's on an XP system or a Vista system. The only differences are the BIOS and power schemes. At the very least it's worth investigating - you've got nothing to lose, and you might solve a mystery.

 

Anyone know how to get a dual booth with XP (first) and Vista on two different hard drives? I tried to use EasyBSD to fix a dual boot XP Vista but the only way I've gotten it to work on two different hard drives is having Vista on the first drive and XP on the second, but the thing thats annoying with it is XP keeps trying to install stuff to the first hard drive where Vista is and as with some software I can't prevent it from doing so. Anyone know a way to do it where I can have XP on the first hard drive and Vista on the second? I have XP Pro 32 bit and the Vista Ultimate 64 RECOVERY DVD. I'm thinking if I had a retail or OEM version I could use the repair feature but it doesn't come with that on the recovery..but I was hoping that if I could get some direction on how to use EASYBSD to fix the bootloader somehow that could possibly work? I'm thinking I could put XP on the first hard drive, and then add Windows 7 and possibly OSX at some point as well. I don't know if te other OSs allow you to partition so maybe I guess I should partition it with XP before hand? Any ideas? Thanks.

 

@CyberVisions
Thanks a lot.
I will try this recommendation.

In my case the noise comes from PSU not the battery. I will also try to work without the battery and check what will happen.

 

What is the difference between HP or not HP driver for gpu?

 

Brilliant! I added that to my page 100 quick guide!

 

As long as you have retail, non-OEM media (i.e., not the HP recovery stuff), you should be able to install XP on the primary drive and then Vista on the secondary drive. Vista and Windows 7 should handle the multiboot part for you just fine.

 

Yea thats the thing..I only have the recovery dvds and want the drivers and software included alread on the dvds.. You think if I used a torrented version JUST for the repair that that would not make my install insecure or possibly wacked based on whatever the torrenters put on their install? How would you suggest I do it..install each to a single drive separately for each at a time and then use repair..? Or by using the Vista retail within XP and be forced to do a clean install?

 

on HDD 1, install HP modified vista, making sure HDD2 is out of the HDX.

When done, remove HDD 1. Install HDD2 in HDD1's slot. Install XP.

When done, put HDD1 w/ vista back in HDD1 slot and install HDD2 in HDD2 slot.

Boot up vista.

Check to see what HDD2's drive letter is by going to computer in start menu.

Go to start menu then accessories, right click command prompt and run as administrator.

type in (as you see it here with brackets, spaces, quotes, and other characters :

Bcdedit –create {ntldr} –d “Windows XP”
Bcdedit –set {ntldr} device partition= E:

Assuming the "E" is the 2nd HDD's drive letter. If it is different, substitute "E" for what it is.

Bcdedit –set {ntldr} path \ntldr
Bcdedit –displayorder {ntldr} –addlast

Close the command prompt window and reboot.

If you need to change the boot order, you can type in msconfig in start menu search and change it on the boot tab. The one you select as default will be the one that is first.

Or you can go to page 100 and use the USB selective boot tutorial I made so that you don't have to worry about messing up your bootloader and therefore won't have an OS selection boot load screen come up every time you boot up. Without the key, you'll simply boot into Vista on HDD1.

 

Also be aware that when you boot XP on a dual boot system that it will corrupt Visa's "system restore" files unless you make XP blind to the Vista drive using regedit.

 

Very good point. Thanks for bringing that up.

 

I learned it the hard way first time I set up a dual boot system. At least the fix is simple.

 

Awesome step by step 2.0 thanks! But as far as booting Vista back up (the 4th step) doesn't XP overwrite the bootloader so that only XP boots up afterwards? Also is this assuming I ONLY use a Retail or OEM Vista or can I use my recovery Vista DVDs? The only Vistas I have on hand otherwise to allow me to possibly reboot back into Vista were torrented...one is a 12 in 1 Vista for all different kinds/brands of computers from different manufactures, I guess its an OEM, and the other is Vista Black but I don't know if either can be used JUST so allow me to boot back into Vista after I install XP and put back both hard drives. Also how/when/at which step do I do regedit to make sure the system restore is ok? Thanks so much!

 

If I installed Vista on the first drive and XP on the second is it possible to make XP blind to the 1st drive in the same respect by a reg edit so that it doesn't try to install stuff to that 1st drive?

 

Nope, the 179.28 and .48 are the only stand alone notebook drivers nVidia has supported. They generally provide manufacturers with driver sets that each manufac. can then develop and test for compatability with each system they sell. Otherwise, there are a variety of mod tools and individuals that convert desktop GPU drivers to notebook GPU drivers.

And about the 179.44, I can only go by what I read on LV2G, but here is what it said:

Mobile Quadro set, by the looks of it originally for HP/Compaq mobile workstations, but does include an INF that supports a heap of Notebook and Desktop GPU's (WHQL)

Operating System: Windows Vista 32bit
Driver Version: 179.44
Driver Date: 2009-01-23 (YYYY-MM-DD)
Driver Size: 42.71 MB
Driver Released by: HP/Compaq
MS WHQL Certificate: Y
Setup Files Included: Y
International Files: Y

 

Considering upgrading my slow 5400RPM drive in my HDX to a 7200RPM one, looking at the manual they seem to use a bracket/s are these a universal fit to all drives on the market or only a select few? any help appreciated.

 

HP drivers (and generally all laptop manufacturer drivers for their products) are developed for certain systems or series of systems. In the case of HDX, for example, there have been very few non-HP (if any) drivers that have allowed for the Blu-ray player to work correctly or at all.

Also, within a reasonable period of time, HP GPU drivers (and some other types), transcend models and can be used for various systems. This is because as a general rule of thumb, 'HP parts is HP parts' in similarly equipped systems. In the case of GPU drivers, I have used many HP drivers that weren't specifically released for the HDX, but the 8800GTS was included in the driver. You have to open the .inf included in the driver package to ensure this is the case.

As for performance, some people swear by non-manufacturer driver mods. Pieter and Dox at LV2G mod desktop drivers all the time, but both in different ways. Pieter just tries to make an efficient driver compatible with notebooks, and tries to include as many mobile GPU's as he can in the .inf. He may make minor performance tweaks. Dox tries to get as much performance as possible out of those drivers with his mods. He seriously streamlines the guts of the driver and tweaks what he can to maximize performance. Although for the last several months, he has included 3 versions in his driver package: Quality, Balance, and Performance. And the good thing about his version is he actually has an installer package that is easier to navigate.

Lately, I have tried non-HP drivers, but have gone back to the 179.32 every time, for one reason or another. Usually temps. And it wasn't released specifically for the HDX Dragon. Go figure.

Whoahhh, way too much rambling...

 

If you install it as directed (with only one drive at a time installed in the HDX) you won't have to worry about any bootloaders being overwritten.

And yes, you can use the HP recovery discs that you have. That's what the HP modified Vista is.

Dont use Torrented/Pirated software.

As for System restore, either disable it in XP or stop it from monitoring the other drive.

 

No. Just take out a drive when you install each OS.

 

Hmm the reason I ask is that I thought I tried this before and it only would boot into XP, but I'll try again but follow the steps you listed in here. Thanks!

 

Ok, rethinking this based on what you have... you should be able to use the Restore DVD (for XP) to install it on the primary drive. Then you'll need to purchase a retail copy of Vista (it won't have any Dragon custom drivers installed of course) and tell it to install on the secondary drive. The Vista installation will set your boot loader for multi-boot. Then you can install all custom HP Dragon drivers on the Vista partition.

 

If you put the HDD that has XP on it in HD slot 1, only XP will boot. If you put the Vista HDD in slot 1, Vista will boot. And that's what you want to happen so that you can modify the Vista bootloader to include an entry for XP on the 2nd HDD.

 

They fit all 2.5" SATA HDDs including SSDs.

 

Sorry I meant to say that I have an OEM XP Professional SP2 with SATA drivers I had to burn to get it to recognize in the HDX, and the Vista Ultimate 64 bit is the recovery dvd set that I have..so I can get partition options in XP but not in Vista. BTW though as a side note, if I ever was to do a clean install are ALL the drivers I'd need that it comes with from the factory/in the recovery DVDs/partition located in the SWSetup folder?

 

Yes, that's why we always recommend saving that folder. Not all drivers/software, can be downloaded from HP's website.

 

Ohhh ok! I think I get it now. So after I install Vista with only the one hard drive in the first slot, I boot into Vista-from there- and do the modifications without having the XP drive in the first or second slot. That is, when I do the Vista modification(s) you listed, it doesn't require that I have XP in the second slot in order for the mod to stick and work, so that when I eventually put XP back into the first slot and Vista in the second then the mods will take effect and it will read them as a dual boot with the option in the beginning? In the mod is there a way to set it the time for how long/how many seconds you have to choose between the two different OSs when you initially boot up each time?


EDIT: I see I'm keeping Vista in the first drive slot, XP in the second, but I guess the mod will make it so that XP won't try to install to the first drive or boot from their I take it.

 

Cheers 2.0, considering going for one of the new Seagate 7200.4 500gb drives that are just being released, don't quite trust SSDs as of yet.

 

You almost get it.

1. Unplug & battery out, take out both drives.
2. designate the Vista drive and install it in slot one.
3. Install Vista using your restore discs.
4. when all done, turn off computer, unplug, battery out, remove that HDD and set it aside.

5. Install the other HDD in slot one. Plug in computer and battery.
6. Install XP.
7. When done, turn off computer, unplug and battery out.
8. Take this HDD with XP on it and install it in slot 2.
9. Take the Vista HDD that you set aside and install it in SLOT 1.

Power up. It will boot to vista not knowing that XP is bootable yet.
Follow the series of commands in the other post to add XP to Vista's bootloader.

Now when you power up, you'll have a dual boot menu.

To adjust the time, search box on start menu, msconfig, click boot tab. Default is 30 secs. change it there. You can even reorder to default start up OS should the timeout expire.

 

Yeah, I'm considering the same drive. Bought a Seagate 320GB 7200 RPM HDD last year. Seriously nice boost in overall system performance from 160GB 7200rpm stock Fujitsu.

I'm with you about the SSD. They are great though and the reliability has come up since introduction. But I'd rather compromise the speed for the amount of storage space.

 

I have them and they work great, just as well as my 120GB 7200 Hard Drives. And you can get them for only like 30-40 bucks more than the 320GB 7200 Hard Drives.

 

HP shipped my HDX with WD2500BEVS drives, which to be fair are not the best on the market and have known "clicking" issues.

With the seagate drives do you recommend going for the G shock ones for the extra couple of quid or sticking with the standard non G shock ones?

 

does anyone know anywhere that still has the 4gb GSkill Memory?!?!? They seem to be impossible to find now.

 

SSD Technology has been around for almost 15 years - I worked on the NASA program that helped develop the technology (can anyone guess which program, and device?). Like digital cameras are to film cameras, SSD's will be the same to mechanical spin drives. Within 5 years or less all new systems will have SSD's as their primary drives as they're more reliable over the long term since they have no mechanical moving parts, i.e., motor and read heads to fail.

So..... if you don't trust them yet, you'd better start. They're here to stay and aren't going away.