*HP HDX18 Owners Lounge*

I have it, it is really cool, even though for some reason I SUCK at using it. I must not be holding my hand straight because it works only 50% of the time with me. My wife, and my coworkers (who I am bragging profusely to) do not have the same issue.

 

I wonder how the reliability of SSD harddrives compares to the reliability of the drives included with our laptops. I am switching my harddrive to SSD tomorrow because I can't take how long things still take to sometimes load (only because I am waiting for the harddrive) when I paid so much for a fast computer.

On another note - Make sure you actually make your recovery DVD when you first get your computer. I learned the hard way and while attempting to load Windows 7, Ubuntu, and Leopard - my harddrive stopped booting (actually, I was also loading Windows Server 2008 when she broke on me ). I wasn't able to load any of my OS'es anymore and had no recovery DVD to save me. It turned out to be a great thing because I ordered the Vista Ultimate Recovery disk instead of the Vista Home version that my hp included. Now I am running Vista Ultimate x64, Windows 7 x64 RC1 (7100), and Ubuntu x64 with all of them using one shared partition for data.

I love this laptop.

 

I just received my laptop on Monday. So far I am loving it. I wiped and downgraded to XP and now I feel more at home with the new laptop than with Vista. My boot time was 1:23:00 with Vista. It is now :46 with XP.


My only issue with laptop is I have 2 yellow exclamation marks under device manager. One is "Unknown Device" , the other is "USB Device"

Does anyone know what these might be so I can seek out the drivers?

Besides the missing drivers this mammoth of a beast is perfect.

My wife saw how big this laptop was... and just shook her head.

 

lol so did my wife.. although right after she asked if she could take it to work with her.. =]

 

Yeah, the bios has been the biggest disappointment to me here with my 18. I don't really understand why they released such an ironclad bios.

 

Has anyone tested the transfer with the ESATA? I was faster out of the USB than the ESATA. 8mb sec vs 12 mb sec transfer through ethernet to remote computer. Both of which are unacceptable, but the USB faster?

 

I may have missed the discussion, but I was debating going from dual boot XP/Vista Ultimate to triple boot with the Windows 7 7100 build...

Has anyone tried this yet? Getting fidgety to remove the vista

 

Wow. HP really does take their time to build and ship laptops. My custom HDX18t was ordered on April 17, and I just got a status update yesterday which shows that it's scheduled to be delivered a week from today, May 7. That's one day short of three weeks total. Yikes. It just left Shanghai yesterday (well, Shanghai's yesterday...) after having a problem with "product constraints of one or more components of your custom PC..."

Patience....

 

No problem here. The Windows boot menu just gives you Three choices!

 

Yep, It will just add the Version to the windows boot menu. Same thing with Ubuntu if you use the installer and run it from windows.

BTW, I also got OSX 10.5.5 working so now I Quad boot my Quad core (Pun intended) - VU x64,Windows 7 RC1,Ubuntu x64, OS X Leopard 10.5.5

I actually have good reason to boot with these different OSes:
VU x64 - Main .NET Programming,Web Development
Ubuntu - php development, super fast on my CDMA phone connection
OSX - iPhone dev, Mac Safari QA
W7 - fun., .NET Programming

 

so you are running it? which do you prefer? Vista or W7?

 

Right now, Windows 7 doesn't have full support for all the goodies on the HDX18
It managed to use most of the Vista drivers, but not all. I really like the new(er) look and feel of Windows 7 over Vista; and can't wait for May 5th to D/L the first RC of Windows 7.

I must admit I didn't spend a ton of time trying to get all the bells and whistles working. I'll try harder with the RC version!

 

I have used mine for months with no problem. As long as you scan starting at the first joint on you finger and somewhat slowly pull you finger straight down towards you it should work all the time. I have mine set up for a few different fingers abd you can use it anywhere that request a username and password to log in. You will a blue box with a white fingerprint in it and a green plus sign in the top left corner of the box. By clicking on this you can set up whatever nickname and password you use to get into the site etc. Makes life easier slow and steady drag from the first joint to the tip of your finger and you are in business. Enjoy and good luck.

 

I ordered the Vista Ultimate DVD from HP for my HDX18, As someone who had Vista pre installed I would like to know how to get the stupid disc to work. I tried booting off of it, i tried running it in windows, it just does not work.

Oh, and my defective HDX18 that turned on on it's own while in my bag, sat for 5 hours, then proceeded to burn my hand when I pulled it out, is finaly getting replaced by HP. I sent it back yesterday after a month of ing to them. I am getting a new one with
P8700
4gb mem
512 video
2 7200 rpm 320GB drives
Blu-ray burner
TV Tuner
Backlit keyboard
Vista premium??? (why)

Anyway, before I sent it back, i installed 7 build 7057, had massive issues unless I turned off auto updates during install, anyone have build 7100 with the XP virtualization? how does that work? I also had issues with the touch controls, not being able to see volume raise or lower on the screen, no bass/treble adjust, otheriwse I got better battery life with build 7057 than with vista, almost 3 times more.

 

which drivers didn't work, just curious, I am going to try that new "may 5"version, 7100, and i will report back here my results.

 

Are you sure the WiFi card is installed and functional? I'd try removing it and re-seating it. See posts #5270 and #5272. Or possibly it's a bad card?

 

Don't count on those Intel identification tools. The chipset identifier doesn't work either. Perhaps the particulars of the laptop.

 

Is there any way to change the resolution of this laptop montor to 1680x1050?

 

I set up my new HDX18t QX9300 Quad Core last night, and I have to agree with a general consensus: it's not as "snappy" in performance as the Core 2 Duo 2.8 ghz processor. I realize that to see a performance increase that I have to be using apps that utilize the 4 cores, so hopefully I've got some future proofing as more apps make use of the Quad. I got the Quad because the price was the same with the 30% coupon as the C2D 2.8 without the discount. Anyway, it's still plenty fast and a beautiful machine. Looking forward to getting an SSD.

 

I tried the HP System Info, but I don't see the 1200 CTO info. I also can't find anywhere in Sys Info that shows my hard drives' speed (I ordered the 7200rpm), and I want to make sure that I didn't get the 5400 rpm installed by mistake. My blu ray info shows "BDRW" which I assume means that it's the blu ray burner (read/write), and the manufacturer is Pioneer.

 

I had the same issue. If you can find the manufacturer of the hard drives and part number, then you can do a google search. I also used a program called everest. It will tell you everything about your laptop.

 

Finally I found the right backpack for my HDX18.

It is Targus backpack made for DELL. There is no DELL logo on it by it is sold via DELL store.

It says 17" laptops but dimensions were close so I decided to try it.

When I tried to fit laptop first time it didn't work...it was sticking out about 1" and I couldn't close it...



but I found out that Targus is using special padding for bottom part....



....which is removable obviously. Once padding is out of the way, everything works fine...



well almost everything.... fitment is tight.... not too tight but I'm not sure if you will be able to use neoprene sleeve and then slide it in. I use original cloth sleeve which work fine and even after removal of special bottom padding, there is thick padding / wall in the bottom to protect your laptop anyway.

This is how it looks closed with laptop inside...



There are few things I like about this backpack. First... it is relatively not ugly comapring to all those spiderman, sci-fi looking geek bags. I don't even mind those blue accents.
Secondly... there is enough of storage and usable functions like extra comfortable handle, phone/mp3 player compartment with headphones opening, headphones cable lock on shoulder belt etc etc.....



...or mouse, cable storage....



...and overall quality is very nice too.

I wish I could have more space to use extra neoprene sleeve , but again, $89 shipped overnight (after discount) is good price for good quality bag.

 

Terrific! Thanks so much. I need to remember: when in doubt, Google.

 

It depends on your driver, but why would you.

The resolution should be defaulted to 1920 x 1080 this is a 16 x 9 ratio and matches the ratio to what the screen is.

The 1680 x 1050 is a 16 x 10 ratio and does not match the ratio of your screen, so if the drivers allowed it, "objects in monitor may be thinner than they appear."

I think the HP supplied driver does not allow it. I'm running the driver from NVIDIA on XP and it does allow the 1050.

 

Looks good Proxus, I believe there is a nice pocket in there somewhere for the HP mini, as well

 

You get the product number from the HP System Information.



Enter your product number in the search box on HP's Software & Driver Download page.

http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html?pageDisplay=drivers

The search should tell you whether you have a 1000, 1100, or 1200 CTO.

 

Thanks, Badwolf!

I got the Targus 17" CPT401 from Amazon for $41.99 + 8.00 shipping, and the HDX18: it fits great, has "dome protection", and it has plenty of room for the power brick and other accessories.

http://www.amazon.com/Targus-Blackt...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1241210756&sr=8-2

 

That's a good deal. You rarely find that bag under $60.00

 

But it does help if you have a second monitor hooked up which uses this resolution. I have the Samsung 226BW which uses this resolution.

 

yeah, silly me, didn't assume question was for 2nd monitor...

mine is a 225bw 5-6? your's must be better or newer.

 

Your UNKNOWN DEVICE - ENE Infrared Receiver
http://rs524.rapidshare.com/files/151975253/IR_Receiver_ENE_2.5.0_VISTA_XP.7z
Download and unrar this file (or use 7zip - a free archive program) and go into the winxp32 folder and run DPInst.exe

Your USB DEVICE - fingerprint reader
ftp://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp39501-40000/sp39532.exe
Driver is for Vista, but works with XP

and welcome to the club

 

True. It's $80 at Best Buy.

The laptop fits very nicely in the bag. I've tried several including Case Logic, Multigiant, and a couple of other Targus bags (which I've returned), but this one has been the best of this type that I've found.

 

Has anyone noticed that HP is now selling the 18t with a 160gb SSD option? This is the first time I've noticed. DANG!

 

OK - windows 7 7100 x86 is very nice.

All devices apparently with valid drivers. The only (non-hp) issue I'm having is with a firewire soundcard I use, refusing to install on the 7.

Testing tomorrow.

VISTA BE DAMNED!

 

thank you
i missread the screen resolution chart i was kinda sure that the default was 1920x1200, instead its 1920x1080.
Atm my video card fan is making a strange noise when its on a mid speed, im beginning to think that is broken, but HP put it in the worst position ever forcing to remove a lot of components.

 

Do u have the fingerprint scanner working? If so PLEASE tell me how to get it working....

 

Thanks for your answer.
I still can't make work the fingerprint scanner with Excel passwords.The password registration operation finishes fine but when I use my finger it fills only the first letter (I mean the first dot symbol) of my password and obviously Excel gives an error login message.

Maybe because I use Office 2007?
Ok it is not a big problem.The fingerprint scanner works perfeclty on all websites.

 

EDIT -

PLEASE GOTO THE WINDOWS7 ON HDX PAGE FOR UPDATED INFORMATION ON THIS TOPIC

 

So.....

Step 1: Digital Person 64 Bit

Step 2: HP's Version of the Validity Driver

Step 3: Download the updated driver from Validity's own website

Do I follow you correctly?

 

if it was confusing at all i am sorry - i was just trying to explain how.

Step 1 - install driver 1.3 from hp
Step 2 - install digital persona program
Step 3 - update driver using validity / windows 7 update 3.1

 

Do you think it would work if I download the 3.0 driver from HP's website as well? I would still do Steps 2 and 3 but I'm just wondering if it would make any difference at all. Last but not least when it's done downloading the 1st driver does it restart or do anything to notify you that it's done? Cuz it didn't do that last time I tried it.

Thanks for all the help btw.

It's amazing how large this thread is compared to all the other laptops.

EDIT: I got it working! I dunno I just skipped Step 2 and tried that other link you had at the bottom for the updated driver and it somehow installed both the driver and DP. At first I was confused cuz I still didn't see a change. Yet I went under the "Devices and Printers" section, right clicked, and selected enroll fingerprint.

Any other suggestions as to what drivers I should get from HP or any other manufacturer to make sure the laptop runs smooth on Windows 7?

 

Wouldn't this work? http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=4314231 It worked for me.

 

That guy's a real tool! I wouldn't listen to him.

No seriously, that was back in the early days, when there was a few of us hellbent on getting XP going. I hadn't tried that particular order with Win7. If it does work with Win7, please post it.

I am beginning to dislike this thread, as invaluable as it is, it's getting rediculous with near 550 pages to sort through.

 

This is a new HP HDX 18 1275 coming out.... check out the specs...and lemme know if they are good..

Intel® Core™2 Quad Q9000 2GHz
6MB Level 2 cache
4GB (2x2GB) RAM
1TB (2x500GB) SATA 5400rpm HDD
Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD±R/RW Double Layer
18.4" Dual channel LVDS FHD AG Dual Lamps with BrightView Infinity Display
NVIDIA GeForce GT 130M up to 2815 MB total graphics memory with 1GB dedicated
HP Pavilion Webcam with Integrated Microphone
HP Mobile Scroll Smart Remote Control
Integrated Finger print reader
TV Tuner DVB-T with remote control
5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader for SecureDigital cards, Multimedia cards, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, or xD Picture cards
IEEE 1394 FireWire® Interface, 1 HDMI connector, 1 eSata connector
One ExpressCard/54 slot (also supports ExpressCard/34)
Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Bluetooth® wireless networking
Intel® Wi-Fi Link 802.11 a/g/n WLAN
Windows Vista® Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
Backlight Keyboard (check below)

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/4012/img0495r.jpg

 

I'm sorry, are you saying I'm a tool? What did I do to deserve that?

 

im just laughing here.......

 

LOL - dude, you quoted an old post of mine. Quote

The joke was on me.

Well it was anyway...

 

I can't vouch for Office 2007. I've gone with Open Office since Office 2000. However, have problems with the fingerprint reader only on certain websites like T-mobile.com (won't accept password even though the password is correct, I have to type the password in manually) and Verizon (similar problem). Most websites work fine.

 

I UPDATED WITH THE EASIER METHOD

 

And I just loaded up the NVIDIA Windows 7 driver and noticed an immediate improvement in over all appearance, and some of my audio software tracked much better as well (bouncing meter levels, and moving wave displays, etc)

I am loving windows 7, and I look forward to all the Vista "fans" running and hiding into the woods.