*HP HDX18 Owners Lounge*

I got mine from Costco. The BIG advantage is the 90 day return policy versus HP's 21 days: this is a lot more time to evaluate whether or not any part of your purchase is defective, and you can just return it and get another rather than go through the whole repair scenario. I got mine at Costco, and it's nice to be able to take my time to check out all of the components, ports, etc.

 

I just got my customized HDX16 today. I ordered it March 22nd. So it was 2 weeks and a day for me. Alittle long if you ask me.

 

wow... mine shipped on the 2nd and got here... today actually... but my sister was sleep and my mom was out so they didn't deliver it. hopefully shell be a lil more awake tomorrow -_-'

 

Ok, I am getting frustrated! Where is HPs next 30% coupon! I am waiting to order but really wanted the discount. It seems like HP is on a coupon dry spell. Bummer.

 

I bought a Microsoft Wireless Bluetooth mouse yesterday. It installed fine except now I get an error message saying "HID Data did not install correctly" every time I boot up, but the mouse works well. I was hoping to avoid the annoying unremovable error messages until a couple of years down the road.

Ah, here we go: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=333832

 

I find my bluetooth mouse is a bit laggy with this laptop "hpx hd 18", vista x64. I've updated the intellimouse drivers and played with the settings and its a bit better but the precision isn't very good for some reason. It is crisp on a different laptop in either vista 32 or xp.

 

Anyone tried the new BIOS on their HDX? F.20 A

Anyone else have DVD issue after installing the update? I'm a little wary of the update now!

 

F.20 A Enhancements: Updates the NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M VBIOS to version 62.94.65.00.05

If you don't have NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M video, then you don't need this BIOS update.

 

F.20 A worked fine for me.

Enhancements: Updates the NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M VBIOS to version 62.94.65.00.05.

 

I have trouble believing that the version would go from 13 to 20 for just one change. Too bad they don't give a full changelog for the BIOS updates.

 

so its finally here... typing to you guys on it right now... i took a few pictures for you all with my phone (thats... all i had at the moment.. unless you prefer DSi ) now to find a way to upload them and show them here... guess ill go n make a photobucket account now

 

ok... i hope im doing this right:

The Box (um... direct your attention away from the random video game station i got back there ...)


This is how it was when I opened it... kinda taken back but I was bein optimistic the whole time so it didn't bother me that much


That's the black sleeve it was inside of... really... um... light




And here it is... after the moment of truth. Opened it up to find that black screen thingy that came with my touchsmart too. After inspecting it i can safely say that I saw absolutely NO problems with the hardware... everything was clean and spotless... no glue, no discombobulated hinges, no scratches no dirt... everything was fine except for..........




.....the touchpad. -__-". i got the HDX16 one... like 90% of us here.



But other than that it looks very satisfying. And its waaaay bigger than I expected... but that turns out to be a good thing ... it practically eats my touchsmart



And... here it is with my Archos 5 and DSi... like i said... its huge


And... that's about it... sorry if this was kinda obnoxious posting pics and all... just thought you all wanted to see if I had any of the problems/concerns people were asking about.. if there's anything else you guys wanna know id be more than happy to answer

 

Sweet. The thing is HUGE tho.

 

Well I finally pulled the trigger! I just ordered it and it has a estimated shipping day of April 15th. I really wanted the backlit keyborad, but wanted to keep the costs down and adding the backlit keyboard would add 7 days to the shipping date.

HP HDX18t Premium Series Notebook PC
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P8700 (2.53GHz)
- FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm) - For 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics
- FREE Upgrade to 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
- 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT - For DDR2 Memory
- 18.4" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)
- Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
- Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Fluid)
- Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
- 50% OFF!! HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner
- HP Color Matching Keyboard
- 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- No Productivity Software
- HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope



I also got the HP Officejet J4680 All-in-One Printer for $53 too. It's wireless so that will be nice not having to plug into it each time I need to use it.

Total costs w/ tax is $1265.66. Not too bad I guess. Although I would have liked to get the backlit keyboard, and the dual 250g HD's. But I already have a 160g HD from my other HP laptop that I can get a caddy for I suppose.

All and all, hopefully I'll forget about the backlit keyboard once the HDX arrives!

 

How did you get all that for that price? Did you use a stackable coupon?

 

lol. Yeah, that price included that printer too.

I called them and told them I had a coupon (NB4357) that I wanted to use. I knew it had already expired, but figured what the hell?

So after waiting forever, she couldn't give me the full $250 off, but did give me a $100 off. Plus I am an APP member, so that added another $100 or so off.

So yeah, not as good as I wanted it to be, but I really think I am getting a good shipping (or build date as they call it) date compared to others! I've seen most shipping dates that are usually 14 days or so after the purchase.

Just ordered mine tonight, and shipping date is the 15th.

 

I should add that she promised me a 21 day price match guarantee.

So if HP releases a new coupon, I will get the difference from what I actually paid.

 

Congrats on your purchase. Any idea if the $250 coupon will show up 4/11/09? I want a HDX18t, i'm jealous.

 

Not sure. They seem to be every 2 weeks or so. I know they switch it up, so the next one might be the 30% off, who knows.

I hope for you sake it comes out by then, it will P me off though. Had I been able to use that $250 off, I could have gotten the Dual HD's and Backlit Keyboard!

 

Well enjoy your laptop. Don't forget to post some pics to make me even more jealous.

 

rageman, I have to tell you: I got the backlit keyboard, and I'm so glad that I did. If you can change your config and hold your excitement for the delay, it makes such a difference. There are times when I can't see the keys in normal kitchen light because the characters blend with the keyboard. My wife has the dv7 without a backlit keyboard, and she has the same problem, and it drives her crazy. There are also times when turning off the backlight provides better contrast.

Congrats, though. You're gonna love it. I ordered mine on 3/18, and I got it on 3/30.

 

please post pics of your backlit keyboard!!

 

Ok, I will try to post pics of the keyboard tonight.

 

Here is a short review with benchmarks, which compares HDX18 with a Q9100 cpu to that with a T9600 cpu. It is based on benchmark results of a fellow member.

 

There's something wrong with that link. The page opens but IE closes it.

I can't seem to get to that article from the web site's home page either.

????

 

Dam it all to hell!

Of course, the day after I ordered my HDX a new coupon comes out! I could have added the Dual HD's and backlit keyboard.

I did call and they will give me back the difference ($150) once my laptop ships.

My other option was to cancel, wait 3-5 days to get my money back into my account, then reorder the HDX hoping that the coupon was still valid. I know that these coupons only last a couple days at best, so that really wasn't an option.

uggh, oh well.

 

Great unboxing...I to received mine the same way. Luckly the outer box did not show any water damage as mine had no plastic to protect and being it was coming from China the odds were against getting w/o any damage. HP needs to step up on the packaging. As for the touchpad, last week when I was speaking to a Tech Rep about a screen distortion during boot up I question the touchpad and they no it was shipped with the correct touchpad and that they are not the HDX16. Which when I advised him of the various forums I had read with regard to this issue he was speechless. I told him I was a member of NBR and they have been several posts about it and still speechless. But I think this is a great laptop. I wish I had waited a little longer to get the backlit keys but I am very happy. Good Luck with your.

 

Dang Assistchief52, did ya have to quote all those pics? lol

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Listening to: WXYTFM
via FoxyTunes

 

http://www.techbargains.com/vendor_detail.cfm/296/HP-coupon-code

Stackable $250 coupon on all HDX's.

Add the $200 instant rebate along w/ the coupon code and you'll get $450 off your purchase.



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Listening to: WXYTFM
via FoxyTunes

 

I got pics of my HDX16 with backlite keyboard up in the HDX16 thread.

 

I'm a newbie here and considering to buy a 18t. I just got a few questions before purchase (forgive my ignorance, I searched but found nothing):

1. Does HDX 18t support RAID 0 if I choose 2 hard drives?

2. It seems the screen is not LED light. How does it compare with other laptop manufacturer's LED screen such as Dell XPS M1730 or Studio XPS 16?

3. What is Full Size Backlit Keyboard? Does it worth additional $50?

Thank you in advance. Please, please don't hesitate and feel free to reply me even if you know only one or two answers. I appreciate any input.

BTW, my main purpose is entertainment rather than game.

 

1. I don't know.
2. It is not LED. However, alot of people in the XPS16 complain that their LED screen shows red too saturated.
3. Scroll down in the HDX16 thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=300646&page=161

 

It does not support RAID, no matter what the configuration.

 

I'm a newbie here, been trying to find the answer by searching this thread but am unable. I cannot enable the "allow this device to wake the computer" on the Intel wireless card. The option is greyed out in the power management window of the device manager. When I access the BIOS by pressing the delete key, it seems to be only a limited acces BIOS. I can find no settings to enable wake on lan.

Any help would be most appreciated.
Thanks,
Steven

 

Thanks for the super lighting response. For question 3, besides the backlit, does Full Size Backlit Keyboard mean it comes with numpad while the default keyboard doesn't have numpad?

 

Windows 7 Build 7057 on my HDX18

Well I got my laptop back from HP this week, and the first thing I wanted to do was put Win 7 on it.

I at one time downloaded Win 7 build 7000 from microsoft in both flavors, 32 and 64 bit, the 32 bit version went on my first gen 13" macbook, and my wifes 20" aluminum iMac. However I missplaced the 64 disc so I went hunting for a new 64 bit copy. I found Build 7057 on the intertubes and downloaded it.

Now, on the Macbook and imac I did not install my copy of Adobe CS4 Master Collection, this time I would.

So I proceeded to install Win 7 on the HDX.
it went fast, 20 minutes and was done. To prep for any driver issues I downloaded all drivers from HP for my laptop and placed them on my D drive (I have 2 drives in my HDX)

So, here is what I did, what went wrong, how I fixed it, how it went wrong again, and then what I figured out the problem was....

Installed 7, did updates, installed all software and drivers from HP, installed Office 2007, Adobe CS4, Firefox, Flight Sim X, updated again, installed Alcohol 120%....whoops big problem, nothing would work unless it came with windows, went to a restore point prior to Alcohol 120 and it worked, ok.
Did last group of updates, restarted (been doing restarts inbetween) upon restart Aero wont run, Windows is in basic view and I get errors left and right, tried a restore point, restart, everything looked and worked fine, updated, restart, basic view and errors, tried another restore point, BSOD 11 times.

I then tried googling the issues, tried various ways to repair Windows (because I spent 2 1/2 hours downloading 8000 emails into Outlook) and then gave up, started over.

This time during the install I opted to have no auto updates, when windows was up and running I turned off updates completely.Finished with Drivers, Firefox, Adobe, Office and Flight Sim X.

So far so good, runs great, if believable it is even quicker than build 7000. I only really needed Video, ethernet, MediaSmart DVD, Touchsmart and the media card drivers.

I might try Alcohol 120 later after I get a few restore points set, but right now I am not worried about it to much.

I really like where Microsoft is going with Windows, I have been a Mac person for 10 years, recent convert late last year and now looking forward to the new 7, it works good so far and now I am looking for build 7068 to put on the HDX.

 

No both lite and non lite keyboards have number pads.

 

Yeah, too bad you can't have a dual-boot option like Linux.

I too have a copy of 64 bit Windows 7, but am afraid to use it. I will probably stick w/ Vista 64 bit.

 

So the only difference is backlit, right? Do you happen to know where I can find pictures for both keyboards?

 

Correct. Here is my backlit keyboard. The non backlit looks the same except well theres no light.

 

He just posted some here http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=300646&page=161

It's the same as the HDX18, just the laptop he bought is smaller.

Here it is w/o the backlit keyboard!

 

Thank you all guys above. You guys are awesome!!

BTW, optimustarzan, nice photos! They are very helpful!!

 

haha. You're welcome. Now throw some rep our way!! lol

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Listening to: The Offspring - O.C. Life(Bonus Track)
via FoxyTunes

 

Are you sure? To me it works just fine.
Here is another link LINK
If you start on homepage, you should be able to find it under "articles" (left menu). It is the first one

 

Man that's SWEET! Nice pics! Thanks for posting them! I wish the touchpad was better and had backlighting around it too but it still looks great. I wonder how it effects the battery life.

 

I like it

Does anyone have the part number?

 

Whenever I've installed Windows 7 on my 18T there have been a few Unknown goodies left over in the Device Manager. Do you have these, or have you figured out what they are?

It would be great if you/I/someone could figure out exactly what update is hosing the computer. I've never experienced Windows Updates causing any problem with my older build installations. Weird....

 

Another difference - the keyboard appears to be black instead of silver on the backlit one. I like the silver better. The screen throws light on the silver keyboard so I don't need backlighting and I don't have to give up battery run time.

 

Sorry that I didn't get pics up last night, but I was having probs with my new Bluetooth mouse. The backlit and nonbacklit keyboards are the same, including the color of the keys (keyboard is silver) and the color of the characters. I tried using the screen to illuminate the keyboard without the backlighting, but I had to angle it so far down that I couldn't see the screen.

My new bluetooth mouse from Microsoft (5000) worked fine for a day, but now it won't connect. I checked the bluetooth settings. The computer (HP HDX18t running Vista Home Premium) says the device is paired and working correctly, but the light on the mouse that should be glowing green is blinking between red and green. I've rebooted several times, too. I did a System Restore back to before I bought the mouse, too, but no luck. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Does the Bluetooth mouse have a sync button on the bottom? If it does press the button and hold the button for like 3 secs, then see if it will sync with your laptop.