*HP HDX16 Owners Lounge*

Hello all. I just got my new HDX16t last night. It's extremely cool looking and seems like it'll be a great computer. Since I'm not one to leave well enough alone I'm trying to downgrade it from Vista to XP and wondering if there's a link to all the drivers that will work with XP? I found one link here on these forums, but it doesn't appear the site is valid any more (jonnybrady.com/etcetc).

I was able to slipstream XP SP3 and the SATA drivers to at least start the XP install, but would like to have the other drivers ready.

Thanks.

 

Finally received my HDX16T yesterday and have been setting it up to my liking. It's an amazingly good looking laptop. I though all the chrome was a bit too flashy at first, but it's wearing on me. And it's pretty light and portable for me. The battery is incredibly small! If they had made it the length of the laptop they could have fit a 9 or 12 cell unit in without having to have it stick out. Of course there's more to it than that.

There are a few quirks that I find a bit puzzling though. First off, I do get the crackling from the speakers, so I'll have to do the fix posted on this thread earlier.

It also arrived dirty. There were sticky bits of stuff on it that I needed to wet a cloth and buff out. I also ordered it without Norton or productivity software, but it came with all of those on it.

Lastly the BD drive doesn't shut smoothly. It's as if it's hitting the top edge on the way and and I have to push it in slowly. Anyone else have this problem?

 

my screen was a lil dirty also,

does the fan run loud for you?

 

It's not as loud as my G1, but it's not quiet. Seems to be running all the time, but I'm also "burning it in." I'll see what the temps are.

 

Thanks so much for the reply!! that DOES help me out a bit.. even though I already buoght the T9400.. i don't think i'll be switching it now.. i WILL play games on this laptop like counterstrike and diablo 3(when it comes out) but i have my desktop also to do that... and plus i won't be doign any video editing that much anyway..

 

Mine came with all that Norton crap and stuff, too. Shrug.

My BD drive isn't perfect either. Same thing. Its not a nice slide to shut, yea?

I could send it back but I'd put money on it, it'd come back the same way. F it.

I'm still happy.

 

Yep, that's the problem I'm having. If I push it in slowly, it's fine though.

Having messed with it nonstop for the past couple of days, I'm pretty happy with it. I've toned down the base and treble to midrange and the buzzing and cracking isn't present anymore. I watched a DVD movie and the sound was fine in a quiet room. I also watched a BD movie and my personal opinion is that there isn't any noticeable difference between this 1920X1080 screen and my old 1680X1050. The black could be darker. Maybe I have to tweak it somehow.

And the fan runs 24/7. It's sitting on my desk unobstructed. I'm using the 6 cell battery, but there's definitely clearance between the bottom of the laptop and the desk. So far, pretty nice though. Now let's see how it handles on my lap.

 

How do I find out which driver update page I need? I ordered my dad one and on HPs site they have a 1000CTO and a 1100CTO?

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=3769207&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&cc=us#

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=3772041&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&lang=en&cc=us#

 

Yeah its a great laptop. It runs wonderfully.

The only thing i do NOT like about this laptop is that it runs warms in the area where your left hand rests. I have a HDX Dragon (16t's big big brother) and that one also gets warm under the palm. The 16t is noticeably warmer though, imo.

It bugged me somewhat so I ordered the 12 cell battery that lifts the laptop up some and I did notice it doesn't get AS warm.

As far as putting it on your lap, good luck with that. I live in Hawaii and wear shorts pretty much 24/7. I definitely am not putting it on my lap.


Aloha

 

Yeah, well I'm in Alaska and it isn't half bad on the lap. Got 1:50 on the 6 cell battery just surfing. Nothing got too warm, but definitely it is warm on the wrist pads. Kinda nice when you have to wear a jacket, socks, and sometimes a hat indoors. But I can see it being annoying.

I wonder what the problem is with the heat issues. I mean, the new cpus are running cooler than previous ones and hdds are also using less and less energy.

 

There is a BIOS setting so that the fan only runs as needed instead of continuously.

 

Hmm OK. But it's not like the laptop isn't getting warm even with the fan on.

Does anyone know if you can disable the clicking sound with the mediasmart buttons? Wish you could disable it all together so it doesn't distract from the movies also.

 

This is actually a fairly simple fix. Go to your Notification icons in the lower right hand corner of your screen. Go right until you find the mediasmart control panel (using my desktop right now, don't remember what they call it in there), and simply press the mute button at the bottom.

 

Has anyone upgraded their CPU in their HDX16t yet? I've heard mixed information about a CPU upgrade in a laptop and found out that it depends on the type/manufacturer of the laptop; so I was wondering if the CPU can be upgraded in the hdx16t.

 

Sweet! Thank you!

 

no problem, glad I could help. That's one of the first things I changed on my laptop too!

 

Hi everyone I've got an HDX16 on the way so I decided to join the forum. Ship date is February 4th.

 

Can someone tell me the part number for the 12 cell battery for the HDX16?

 

Hey Guys,

I have a HDX 16 with the tv tuner card. I wanted to share this video on how to make your own HDTV antenna (after dropping big bucks on the HDX I can't afford to buy one).

http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to/video/how-to-make-a-coat-hanger-hdtv-antenna-158597/

I MacGyver'ed an antenna and got 3 HD channels and I live in the boonies of Eastern Ontario (Canada).

I hope that others can benefit from some free HD TV.

Cheers

 

HP Part #KS526AA

 

Hello All,

I once planned to get this new machine or HDX18, but now I am not quite sure... as we don't know yet if the nVidia 9600 GT card also has heating problems and would fry like the 8600 series... all people who bought machines with G84 or G86 are rendered with machines which even won't boot right after your warranty expires... I urge you all to buy a full warranty for at the least 4 years, if you are really interested in such a costly machine...

best regards,
A cheated dv9500t customer!

 

Hey Guys/Gals, Anyone running XP on their HDX16 yet? My HDX is on order, otherwise I would find out for myself. I figured it wouldn't be any harder than any other new laptop but I just read a customer review on newegg in that the owner was experiencing BSOD upon booting XP. TIA

 

I will love to get my hands on the HDX16t. The 18" is a little too big for my taste. I'm hoping they remain on sale throughout the year. I'm waiting for Windows 7 to buy my next laptop, by then a new model may catch my eye. The two that I have now are 5 and 2 years old. There are some things I would like to see on the HDX16t though. I'm hoping HP starts giving the option for DDR3 memory and begin rolling out 64GB, 128GB and 256GB SSD configuration options. The 18" has DDR3 memory options at the same price as the DDR2 memory options, so it baffles me why they can't do the same for the 16", plus, HP is poorly lacking in SSD support.

 

Howdy Folks !

Am just about to take the plunge and buy the HDX 16 here in the UK. I just had a few concerns/niggles and was wondering if existing owners can offer some advice;

1) I had a play around with the laptop and the lid doesn't seem to shut securely when closed. In fact it doesn't have a locking mechanism. Is this an issue during day to day usage?

2) The track-pad is a bit uncomfortable to use. There seems to be a lot more 'friction' when I slide my fingers on it. Does this become a hassle after prolonged use?

3) The blue ray drive sometimes doesn't lock in properly when closed. Is this a common defect?

4) What sort of battery life are people getting with moderate use?

5) Are there any other issues I should know about? I have narrowed my choices down to HDX and the Sony FW. The Sony does have a very attractive design but the built quality seems a bit cheap + the gfx card on the Sony is inferior to the HDX (Ati 3650 vs nvidia 9600gt).

6) I'm also contemplating buying the macbook pro but am not too sure about running windows on it.

Thanks a lot guys !

 

1. No. I haven't had issues with it. The felt covering the keyboard occasionally slides out when I take the laptop out of the laptop bag, though.

2. I have had no problems using the trackpad at all.

3. I've heard a few guys in this forum including myself have the same issue. It doesn't bother me at all. Its not a locking in issue, its the track the drive is on when it goes INTO the laptop.

4. Battery life: I bought the 12 cell and am still testing.

5. I should have done more research into the 9600. I was expecting a lot more gaming performance. I have a HDX Dragon also with a 8800 GT card, and i 'assumed' it was better being a 9000 series. Read some posts, with respectable sources stating the 9600 is inferior to the 8800. Shrug.

6. Macs are too expensive.

Lastly, imo, heat is an issue. It does get warm while video editing and gaming. I ended up buying the 12 cell battery that also jacks up the laptop an inch. It helps. I may buy a cooler pad also. But you shouldn't have to buy accessories to do this, no? Friends say that all their laptops get warm while gaming at some point. This one seems significantly warmer than my other laptops.

Don't get me wrong, its a great laptop. Compact, quick and I get decent framerates in most games I play. Its just not what I expected and thats my fault for not researching better. Reviews are reviews. I should have done more of what you are doing by searching users forums.

 

Hello all! Am seriously considering joining your exclusive club of HDX16 owners.

One query though that I'm hoping one of you might be able to answer:

Has anyone tried to play recent games like Fallout 3 or Left 4 Dead on this machine? Does that 9600 really play those kind of games at a detail that can so justice to the quality of the screen? Presumably the resolution has to be reduced - has anyone tried this, and how blurry was it?

Should I abandon the beautiful HDX16 and go for similar specs (P8400, 9600GT, 4GB) on a machine with a WXGA or WXGA+ screen (i.e. dv5t or dv7t)?

Thanks so much for any replies, help really appreciated.

 

L4D should play fine at 720p, or lower. The dv5t is gone.

 

Thaks for the answer lowprofile. I know it should play fine but I'd love to know from someone who's actually tried it first hand. I'm really wondering how it looks when playing such games in scaled down res Vs how it looks on a e.g. dvt of same specs but with a native WXGA/WXGA+ screen.

Thanks for all the help. This is the one thing they won't let me test in the shop! (Although I must say the assistant did look mighty tempted with my suggestion )

 

Hey guys,

I'm about to receive my HDX16 soon. I bought the 1140US version off Newegg.

I was wondering if any of you guys installed Windows 7 on his laptop without any problems.

Did you use the drivers on HP's website or the ones via Windows Update?

Thanks,

Ali.

 

Hi there i have just acquired HDX and i am pretty sure it is a great notbook. I would like to ask though... Can i exchange video cards with my older 8710 compaq which carries a NVIDIA FX3600M G92 GLM 512MB with the HDX's 9600GT????? Would it worth the effort???

 

You can't change the HDX 16's video card, it's integrated within the mainboard.

 

I have recently purchased the HDx 16.

I installed 'Speedfan' to monitor the cpu and gpu temps..

Idle temps for the gpu are around the 62-65 C mark which to me seems too much given that I'm not doing any graphic intensive work.

If I set the fans to turn on permanently in bios settings then idle temps go down to 50C .

I havent done any gaming yet so cant comment on intensive use temps.

Can anyone else share their thoughts on this since I get the feeling that my laptop is overheating.

Thanks

 

I just received my hdx 16 and love it.

I also purchased the xbr dock. In reading the forum, the suggestion is to uninstall the idt driver and install the realtek driver for audio. Would you still do this if you are running out of the dock 90% of the time?

Thanks

Jim

 

Good day to all HDX 16t owners like me! Just wanna ask you guys how long your 12-cell battery last in this machine when (1) surfing the internet, (2) when playing games and (3) when playing movies.

I had mine for just 2 weeks and i noticed that the battery only last roughly 3 hours when i'm just surfing the net using the HP RECOMMENDED power option. What more if i play games on it. I read from this forum that theirs last 3-4hrs playing games and 5-6hrs surfing the net.

Do you think my battery is faulty and call HP support?

Thanks guys!

P.S. I have Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T9400 (2.53 GHz)

 

I'm considering getting the HDX16t to replace my old notebook (HP/Compaq nc6000 with 1.6MHZ CPU and only 512MB RAM).

I'd like to use this new notebook for:

- work (multitasking with a bunch of MS Office / email / PDF windows, plus Citrix)

- video editing (transferring from my Sony DVC, doing some editing, and then burning to DVD)

- gaming (some RTS games like Battle for Middle Earth series, Empire at War, and stuff like that)

I'm planning on going with 4GB of RAM -- does that sound sufficient?

Also, what CPU can I get away with? The base is the T6400 (2.0GHz) but would the T6600 (2.2GHz) be enough?

Anything else I should consider?

 

It's not overheating at that temp, however, that is high considering you aren't doing anything that is demanding. It is possible that the temps will come down after the comp is used more. I would run a graphic intense program and see if the cooling system keeps up.

BTW I'm on a dv5t right now w/ a 9200GS card. Using Hardware monitor, the GPU never breaks out of the low30C range while surfing the net. High so far has been 34 C.

 

Have had my HDX16T since late November, worked great. Today, my blu ray drive died. Has power, just can't read anything.

My guess is hardware failure, but we'll see how HP support does!

 

about 3 hours and they still wont' accept the drive is bad. I uninstalled, replaced driver, updated bios, physically removed drive, booted to do and tried it. now they want me to ship my computer out to them instead of having them ship a new drive to install because it is "too technically challenging", even though they just had me remove the one screw and remove/re-seat the drive. agonizing.

 

my laptop temps when idle are as follows: (1) CPU=39C, (2) GPU=43C, (3) Hard drive=44C. it reaches 70C while playing high end games. i used everest to measure these temps.

anyone can share their information regarding the battery life of 12-cell batt on this machine? mine last only 3hrs surfing the net.

 

Call again and speak with someone else. That's just silly to not send you a new drive to install yourself.

Temps wise, I'm getting ACPI 55; Cores 50; GPU 65. That's all just surfing the internet. No cooler. Maybe I'll get one after a month of burn in time.

 

>>Today, my blu ray drive died. Has power, just can't read anything.

My guess is hardware failure, but we'll see how HP support does!

gizweb,

This happened to my machine a while back (only with blue ray discs) and HP tech support was very helpful in restoring original files and making a registry change to iTunes to fix something it does.

However, none of that worked and I was asked to do a system restore. I'm in the middle of some projects so held off.

One day, just for kicks, I opened the drive door and poked around. The slider that holds the two laser lenses wasn't all the way toward the center of the spindle so I gave it a nudge. Everything works fine now.

It appears the slider wasn't returning to the right spot, it could be catching on the looped cable. I have reported this to HP, but you might just try it before calling them.

Good luck, great machine otherwise in my opinion.
Ted

 

Sometimes when I start my HDX16t-1000 the log on screen comes up with half of the screen black and then instantly it's fine. No other issues. All games play with out a hitch. It's almost like it pauses for a milisecond during boot up. Should I be concerned?

Thanks, Rob

 

Maybe this is just a difference between the P and T series CPUs, but i'm running much lower temps. Right now i'm running a P8400 without a cooling pad and i get: ACPI 35C, GPU 44C, C1 30C, C2 26C. Granted i have a 12cell battery so i get that 1 inch lift, but i don't think that should account for that much. If your running really high, try doing this, go into your power management advnaced options, goto minimum processor state, and change plugged in from 100% to 15%. This should let the CPU sleep while your not really using it and lower the temperature.

 

Hello to everyone. I would like to ask a question about the possibility of a cpu upgrade to the HDX16. I bought mine in Germany, so only available option at
that moment was the P8400. So is there anyone who knows if its possible to
upgrade this CPU to another one? Is it possible to upgrade to the T series CPU?
Maybe the T9400? Any helpwould be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

I don't have Itunes installed, but they asked and we did the registry check as well. After 4 hours, they wanted me to do a full system recovery, I told them no. THey relented and are shipping a new drive. They still said it is software related, not hardware - I guess we'll see. Thanks for the thip, very well could be it, I don't think the disc is spinning up and it makes very odd noises, like it is trying to read, but can't.

Oh yeah, hanging up and calling someone else doesnt' work, they have predefined scripts for trouble shooting, until they go through them all, they are like robots.

 

>>I don't think the disc is spinning up and it makes very odd noises, like it is trying to read, but can't.<<

Yes, mine was the same.

Will your drive read any kind of disk? I had no problem with regular cd/dvd's or with blue ray movies (m2ts files) written to dvd.

It was only straight blue ray movies that would neither play nor show up in Explorer.

There are two lenses on the slider and the blue ray is probably a much narrower beam. If it doesn't go to the inside edge of the disk it can't read the header information to start it up.

That's my theory anyway.

Let me know if nudging it helps, please.

Ted

 

Installed XP on HDX.. Everything is fine.. Expcet a few issues with speakers..

1. It makes a feint rattling noise all the time.. Not a bother, but still, it keeps reminding me something is not right..

2. The audio mute/unmute touch area is always red..

May be I got wrong drivers installed. Any one with XP facing the same issue?

 

Thanks for the advice, but nothing works. Same thing, can't read any discs, no matter the format. I call it dead. We'll see how fast HP gets a new one and if it works.

 

>>I call it dead<<

Good call....good luck.

BTW, to Robcope; my screen starts the same often, lower half black for a few seconds. It may have something to do with video buffers.

Ted

 

Is the HDX16 too big to be considered a good portable computer? I want this laptop as the specs and performance seem excellent, but I am not a gamer at all and will be traveling with it about once every 2 weeks. Please help as I can not find a store that has it so I can actually test it out.