*HP HDX DRAGON Owners Lounge, Part 1*

yes it is stable

 

Just a quick way to look at all settings in our BIOS event those hidden. Please download HP System Software Manager Utility HP System Software Manager Utility and run the following command:

Code:

BiosConfigUtility.exe /advanced /getconfig:config.txt

 

GPU-z displays nothing. Can't get any data from the card.

 

is there a virtual way or external way to access the BIOS for the GPU?

 

I sure wished ilovedragons friend would post in here.. or somewhere. Wait why does the newest BIOS not effect the GPU because it doesnt write to the Video portion in the GPU bios?

 

Same KW899AV at $975.07:
http://www.sosnet.com/detail.asp?ItemID=1001635979

 

Yeah, but installing the card in another computer like a Sager/Clevo. But that won't help matters much. You need to be able to access the HDX's BIOS.

It won't help and will brick BIOS and/or Video card because it will write the same video BIOS as F.39 to the card.

The whole problem is that the HDX's BIOS doesn't have the proper settings to the 280M and doesn't recognize it. In fact it likely won't recognize anything other than what's its programed to. This is the general case will all MXM cards. There are exceptions though. But the HDX isn't in the exception camp.

 

I thought the reason the 9800 worked in the guys HDX was because it was pulled from an Alienware/another notebook with similar BIOS info written on it? Hence the whole, if the HDX18 or other notebook comes out with a 9800 we could likely use it in the HDX.

 

Possibly. No guarantees.

Good for manufacturers, bad for end users.

MXM, ain't it swell?

 

Hmm..but the 9800 at least doesnt need the mods that you mentioned you need a dremel for right?

 

We do not have any solid confirmation that a 9800M GTX has successfully worked in an HDX 20. The one who posted about this didn't even provide any photos or screenshots the way 2.0 did. Maybe if HP has its own BIOS for the 280M GTX then the latter (card from non-HP sources) can be flashed and made to work in the HDX 20 (assuming the rest of the card apart from the BIOS is compatible and the heatsink mods are also made). But all of this is a very remote possibility...

 

I think mobile Gfx cards are very OEM manufacturer-specific even for same GPU model. Did you notice the NVDisp_HP.nvu file (NVIDIA Display Driver uninstaller) called in HP-specific .inf of NVIDIA GeForce drivers coming directly from NVIDIA's Web site? Just one example... Maybe I am wrong...

 

do i need to remove the hard drive, memory and blu ray drive in order to remove the bottom cover? i can't find the mylar screw cover (452320-001)...

 

Unfortunately, Yes, it does. Has the exact same layout as the 280M GTX.

 

You only have to remove the Blu-ray drive to find the mylar screw cover and screw underneath it. A screw holds the optical drive in place. On the bottom of the HDX, the screw's location is demarked by a optical disc symbol. See pages 49-50 in manual. Don't remove the bracket as illustrated though.

 

will do. thanks 2.0. but i don't have to remove the hard disk and memory right?

 

Correct, they can stay put if you are just removing the rear cover.

 

i can't detach the bottom cover. what's the trick?
do i have to remove all the screws at the bottom?

 

Hey guys, I'd like some testers please. Mobilenvidia at LV2Go has (greatly) helped me with an audio driver. Equalizer, SRS, Andrea, Dolby controls and IDT control panel all work. But the sub doesn't seem to work on my machine. May be a fluke, or I probably still haven't figured out the corect pin setting in the .ini. Anyway, it's at rapidshare, here: http://rapidshare.com/files/251431024/IDT_HP_HDX.7z.html

There are only 10 downloads available now, but I can open it up if we can figure this out.

I haven't tested external speakers, but they may work straight out of the box if someone uses that setup.

Should just have to download, unzip( I used 7-Zip), and run setup...uninstall current driver first. BTW, I'm running Win7, RC 7201, 64bit. But it is a driver for Vista and 32 as well. Good luck and please send some feedback.

 

got it already but i didn't have the chance to remove the fan..... thanks 2.0

 

IMHO, the 'subwoofer' effect might be a global (always-on) 'special equalization' driver filter for the HDX internal speakers/subwoofer (which are not treated as 4+1; the driver still treats the five speakers as normal stereo), matching their size and acoustic qualities. That's why methinks HP didn't include SRS in our case as it would practically add very little to such a configuration (being itself a filter), and will usually take some of the HDX superb bass while making higher frequencies (treble) a bit clearer and crispier (but not always; depends on the played sound source/quality).

Perhaps you can trace what the original driver setup is writing to the registry by using a tool like Sandboxie (doesn't run under 64-bit Windows).

 

guys would this fit our express card slot? i don't have the cover already plus i don't have wireless N so I'm thinking of getting this one to cover it up???
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-LINKSYS-WPC600N-WIRELESS-N-NOTEBOOK-ADAPTER-PCMCIA_W0QQitemZ110393620706QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item19b3f8f8e2&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A3|66%3A2|39%3A1|293%3A5|294%3A50

 

ask the seller if it is express card 54. if it is, it will fit.

 

I spent 2 day looking for the HP laptop BIOS tools to help 2.0 solve the problem with 280GTX but as far no luck. Definitely it is not an phoenix bios as I was trying to open it with phoenix bios editor, modbin either. It is definitely HP/COMPAQ custom solution

 

but according to the specs our dragon also support expresscard/34 right? do we need an adapter or something?

 

hi, i have been following up recent posts and read that you can replace the ati card with the faster Nvidia card for the HDX9000 so I went and bought the Nvidia card online. It arrived today and Im a bit ancsious to install it but would like to know if anyone has had experience with switching these cards?

I read from someones post that the cards are glued to the heatsink. Does this mean that I need to buy also a heatsink so i don't damage my old card? Do i need to buy thermal grease or some sort of compound?

I can't wait to install this but I want to make sure that I am aware of any pitfalls before i open up my laptop and ruin something! anyone have pictures or step by step instructions? All advice would be apreciated.

 

Ok everybody. I recently bought a hp hdx dragon (9350eb) version with nvidia 8800m gts and vista home premium 32-bit. Now I've noticed one thing that kinda bugs me. If I play justin tv or southpark episodes in full screen, the sound starts cracking and popping. I have no idea how that's possible, although I did notice it doesn't crack and pop when I lower the resolution. I tried downloading the latest nvidia drivers and I downloaded the IDT driver that is provided by HP, namely the 6.10.5607. The problem still persists, then I tried re-installing windows with the recovery cd's I made and the problem would not go away. I've read somewhere the solution is to delete the flash player and then re-install it, yet no avail there as well. Somebody who has an idea what the problem might be and maybe a fix for it?
I know it's vista 32 bit, so I can only get 3 gigs ram from a possible 4 gig, but that should suffice to let the sound work properly no?

The problem vanishes the moment I switch off full screen. Ooh and playing dvd's, blu-rays, video games in full screen doesn't give a problem whatsoever.

Thx in advance, I really and truly hope there is a solution for this problem.

 

upgrade to the latest driver 186.03 directly from NVIDIA's site:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/geforce_notebook_winvista_186.03_whql.html

 

Check with user 2.0...but, me thinks you have no idea what you have stepped into!

 

Yes.

Where did you buy the card from? HP?

In any event, to answer your question, it should have the heatsink mount glued to the card. This is different from the heatsink itself which is not glued but is fastened with screws - to the heat sink mount. The heat sink mount is glued to the back of the 8800M card. If your card is from HP or if it is a pull from a gateway, it will have the heatsink mount attached to the card.

If you bought the card from HP, it will come with heatsink compound. Otherwise you will have to buy some. You can get some from your local Radio shack. They have Arctic Ceramique. Otherwise, you can buy a tube of Arctic Silver 5 or other compound online. Cost $5-$15.

The pitfalls are somewhat easy to address. But... taking the HDX apart isn't the least bit intuitive. You need the service manual. You can find it on HP's website or on page 100 (blacknight's post.) Take your time and set aside 4-5 hours from start to finish.

Google for how to apply heatsink compound. Do it wrong and things will heat up too much. Method of application is specific to type of compound. Arctic Silver 5, thin. General goop, drop size of a pea. etc. etc.

Other thing is: and this is important, your motherboard must be part number: 464591-001.

To find out, take your RAM out. The label is underneath them.

If it is not this part number, STOP. You will not be able to upgrade to the 8800M GTS. Different MXM than the one on mobo #448145-001.

If it's not the right part number, you can get the proper mobo from HP for $310+ shipping/tax or $175(if you send back the one you have).

 

I'm still looking int th eissue but won't be around for the weekend to putz around with it. Next plan is to take out the RTC battery for 10mins, which will clear the BIOS, boot up with card installed and see if that makes a difference.

 

Thanks for responding to me. I bought it from partstore.com it was 71 dollars shipped. They shipped it in a bubble wrap jacket with no documents or thermal heatsking compound. I will take a picture of the card when i get home so i can understand better weather it came with a heatsink attached or not. thanks for your advice i will be back shortly

 

If it looks like this on the back of the card, then the heat sink mount is attached:



The heatsink itself, which consists of heatsink, heatsink pipe, fan and radiator, which attaches to the heatsink mount pictured, is already in the HDX.

I don't think the ATI card has the proper heatsink mount. But it could. You will have to remove it and apply if to the 8800M. However, removing it is not easy and yu can damage the card in the process.

 

I already did that, it doesn't solve the problem. Thx for trying tho, do you maybe have another idea?

 

Yes it has that on the back of the card. So I should be ok? i checked with partstore.com to see if my laptop was compatible with this part and they confirmed based on my model that it is compatible.

so in theory, i should be able to install this part without the need of anything other then heatsking compound? where should it be applied? around the rim?

so will it be like a pc graphics card where all i have to do is pull out the old one and put in the new one in the port?

thanks for all your help.

 

another question, I bought my laptop about 6 months ago and im not sure if its just me or the laptop but it seems like the screen is not as bright as it used to be. Do these screens burn out quickly? I use it about 6 to 8 hours a day, daily.

 

Right, you have everything you need except heatsink compound.

You have to google for a tutorial about applying heatsink compound. A quick summary won't do a first timer justice. There are right and wrong ways of doing it. And doing it wrong will be a bad thing. Do it wrong with certain compounds that contain silver or other conductive material and the video card will go up in short order.

So that said, what you have to do is to first uninstall the ATI Radeon driver. Reboot and let windows install its generic VGA driver. Shut down and Then you can go ahead and install the Nvidia card. Once you boot up post new card install, you can install the video driver.

Again, make sure you have the correct system board in the HDX with the aforementioned part number otherwise this won't work at all.

It's not exactly like swapping out a desktop's video card. But the basic idea
is similar.

 

They use CCFL lamps (2) and don't really dim over time unless one of the bulbs blew. You may have adjusted your brightness or contrast. Some driver updates can change default brightness.

 

what do you guys think?

 

anybody who knows what to do?

 

try to reformat your lappy......

 

Tried that as well

 

umm...it most likely could be a problem with the files you are playing, nothing about your laptop.

the codec it was processed with or what not, could not have been rendered well etc.

chances are i'm guessing you got a ripped version of south park, so anything goes, as far as who encoded it, etc. i wouldn't worry about it if this is the case.

as you said, all other dvd's work fine. that being said, mr. twig . net is a good source for south park.

cheers.

 

i know it takes expresscard54, i have a card. it says (my model at least) that it supports 34, but i haven't got a card to test for fit/function. but i know it should fit.
the express card slot cover in the hdx should look like the 54, if so, then you are good to go. you cannot fit the 34 in the 54 obviously. (not 'natively' at least).

see this


i believe you don't need an adaptor. same number of pins, same length. you might just have to guide it in the the slot is all. why don't you ask the seller and squash the dilemma altogether. you should ask either way. besides i found it cheaper than the link you gave me anyway, if you care for it.

 

I'm using www.southparkstudios.com, if you go to that site and watch an episode in full screen, does the sound start to crack after a minute or so as well?

 

thanks you

 

CCFL lamps do diminish in intensity over time, but we are talking years not months. It is a very gradual process. Along with low power, color accuracy, compactness, long life is driving the use of LED back lighting. Most of my experience with CCFT was in the design of industrial computers running 24/7 in harsh environments. Our dragons CCFT's should last for many years.

 

Thanks for the information guys!

 

guys, i was thinking if i can replace the wireless card from my acer 8920 with the dragon's? my acer has 4965 wireless N while the dragon's does not support N. is it possible? is it easy to replace? will i do a lot of rewiring? do i need to install another program for the card to work on both notebooks? thanks

 

oh jesus. online? well don't say its your dragon, then. who knows what's going online in the coding, etc. or whatever. if your stuff plays perfectly, locally, then your fine. i wouldn't worry about it.

also check that your power management that you are on high performance, and that in advanced power management, it is not set to ramp down the processor power if necessary on battery, or whatever.

EDIT: mine stuttered briefly, but that has nothing to do with the dragon. consider buffering speed, and also all people watching it at the same time, etc. i wouldn't spend much time worrying about your dragon, if all else plays well.