*HP HDX18 Owners Lounge*

That adapter plugs directly into the computer's HDMI port, which you plug the monitor's DVI cable into.

I do have a separate HDMI cable (15') I got from Amazon for about $4 that works just fine.

 

Sorry about that, I read it wrong. I thought you could stack all 3 coupons lol.

 

No they are not stackable I just tried as well.

 

I have such a configuration that I'm using for another monitor to make pluggin and unplugging easier (via HDMI vs DVI) to save my DVI port from wearing out. So I know what you're talking about. I don't think I have the dual link version of the adapter, which I assumed, and you've confirm one needs. And I was just wondering what spec HDMI cable one needs or are they all the same. Last I read up, there was 1.3 and 1.3a etc.. Thanks for the info, I'm amazed it works, I though it was not possible. I also have a HP 30", but it's not with me and I won't be united with it until April or so next year.

 

What the OP meant was that you can stack ONE of the coupons, on top of the built in $200 off. You can't stack all 3 like I tried to do. Hope that helps.

 

Yeah I see that now. Thanks. Have limited funds so I am going to wait to see what happens with the holidays....

 

Wow that was confusing...

 

So has anyone done an unboxing for this notebook?

 

Yes, please as I have everything working except the Media Smart buttons. If anyone can help with that, let me know.

if you need help with the recovery software, I compiled it all into a single wim image file then mounted that, but I dont see this software.

 

everyone must be waiting in line to vote...

 

that's what i am waiting on. there are not enough videos of this laptop.

 

Just out of curiosity, has anyone tried and succeeded at installing XP on the HDX18T?

 

boy...this thread died.

 

Not yet. I may try here soon. If so I will document the process.

Only problem I potentially see is the drivers for the tuner card (I have one). There could be some others that Im not immediatly seeing (chipset etc).

Now that I think of if it does the HP site have XP drivers up for this model? I cant check it since Im at work. Its blocked.

 

For XP it's only showing drivers for HP Quick Launch Buttons & HP Wireless Assistant.

 

Heya Lancorp,

Since I am going to be a new 18T owner here soon, anything I should know/be aware of. Any special tweeks needed or ? My plan is to , after saving off swsetup folder and makeing my recvovery disks, wipe the drive and do a clean install of Vista64 Ultimate. I assume most latest/greatest drivers on the HP site for this thing ?

How is sound quality compared to the Dragon ?

 

Personally, I wouldn't do the "wipe and clean" install...there isn't that much bloatware, and you'll wind up putting most of the HP-specific stuff back on just to get the buttons and other "HP functions" working again. But, that's just my opinion.

You can order the Vista Ultimate 64-bit recovery DVD for $16 from HP (see earlier post for link), and then just put that on, and voila!, you have Vista Ultimate with all the necessary HP goodies.

Sound-wise, I have an update to my earlier position on the HDX18t sound--music is great. Loud, good "bass" and very strong vocals, etc. Not tinny at all. Blu-ray movies, on the other hand, are just barely audible over normal environmental noises, and I have everything cranked up.

If anyone has a suggestion on how to get movies louder, that would be appreciated.

Compared to the Dragon, I'd say the Dragon is better, but not by much with regards to just playing music.

I've been very happy with the '18, so "tweak-wise", I don't know of anything in particular.

 

Thanks.....dont need to order a Ultimate DVD though, have one here, fully liscensed and everything. Yea gonna miss the Dragon, no doubt but all in all I think I was fairly compensated by HP on this one, they did me right.

Regarding the blue ray movies volume, think it could be the software ? I have WinDVD9 here I am planning on installing, will let ya know how that works out,(will be a while, They are ordering it today and I expect a 2 week build/ship from China)

How is the graphics card compared to the Dragons ? I have herd its about 1/2 the power, that bugs me, but oh well.

 

What does Ultimate have over Home Premium aside from Bit Locker? Doesn't the laptop come with a feature to enable you to burn the OS yourself? I will probably find this out myself in a few hours, my 18T is here! I will eventually get around to making a custom stipped down version of Vista, but it won't be anytime soon, probably after the release of SP2.

As for unboxing video, I've never done one, not sure I will do one as I don't know what/how to record. I have a webcam and a point and shoot, but the P&S does big Mpeg2 files.

 

if the mediasmart buttons arent working, install it, i uninstalled by accident. And you only see the vol/tre/bass on the screen with certain app's but it will still increase the volume and such most of the time...

 

Bitlocker is the big one...there are a few other small details, but for me that is the biggie. Along with RDP. I own 3 copies of Ultimate actually and one Home Basic (sons computer).

 

Is the 18T hardware bitlocker compliant?

 

The drives don't support encryption (which you could use w/o BitLocker), and AFAIK there's no TPM.

You can, however, use a removable USB flash drive to store your key in lieu of the TPM. Then, all you need is at least two partitions on the target drive and you're good to go.

 

Vista version comparisons


Your notebook does come with some software to make some backup DVD "ghost" disk for a reinstall.

 

Thanks. Also of note is if I try Im going to install the Xp x64 version. Im running 8GB of RAM. Not going to cripple myself by running x86.

 

Correct, but thats just to make it like it came out of the factory, which, I dont want. I want a clean install of Ultimate.

 

Correct, it doesnt have a TPM, but I have a flash drive I use for that purpose...This one: https://www.ironkey.com/

 

Unboxed my 18T, really not much to the package, just instructions, battery, power adapter, not worth videoing.

First impression, holy cow, this thing is just beautiful. So much prettier than what you see in pictures on the net. Screen is very nice, I wished for 1920x1200, but at least, this one doesn't have a 'grain' finsih like my old Dell or even my 30" HP LCD monitor. Uncalibrated, the screen has too much blue, I notice this on many uncalibrated laptops. I will get to calibrating it a bit later, it should be good.

Palmrest, a bit too warm on the palmrest of the left side. I assume that is where the HD is? Maybe 2 HD mean warm palmrest left and right?

Bloatware... not much if any. I only see Norton bugging me when I startup. Whatever else is installed doesn't come up, so that good.

Fit and finish, just a beauty. There is a cloth type paper placed between the keyboard and screen. I wonder if one should always be using this? Certainly don't want keyboard imprint on the screen. I wish there were some ports on the rear, for example, the power port. It's sticking out on the right side, and more ports on the left and right side.

Sound. It's pretty loud. Better than my Dell 9300 that also has a 'sub'. Bass is deeper.

Now while everything is cool with the laptop, and I'm happy with the purchase but have not tested much if anything, I have one cosmetic problem. The left side of the keyboard, where the plastic meets the peferated top plastic part, mine is uneven, it's pushed in on one side and lifts on the other. And when I took a close look, there are dimples on the smooth plastic, so I assume during assembly, something squished on it. That sucks, now I have to go ask HP to send me a new one, and I can only imagine that this will eat away at my return window (meaning the return time doens't get reset).

Ofcourse, I would love to have a quad core, did anyone else aside from Lancorp get a quad? I need to find a nice looking mouse, a glossy mouse. My Microsoft BT mouse just looks 'old' next to it lol. Also, any way to disable the media lights around the keyboard. More to come later.

 

I got a quad, and the keyboard was malfunctioning so I had to take it apart and re-connect it. Works like a charm now. You could probably fix your problem with the keyboard bezel by taking it apart, but I guarantee it's not easy - if anything, it's stressful! I was afraid I was going to break something. But it turned out alright.

 

Well, the left side plastic has dimpled impressions on it as well, in a few small spots, so that is not going to unbuckle. This is beside the upper peferated bezel that isn't sitting right. Unless there is a manual, I don't know where to start, and with those permanent dimples, I'm just going to get them to send me a new one. After all, I don't have a rare quad! You think I can get them to upgrade anything for free for me as compensation for the inconvenience?

Are there any programs to control the fan speed? Also what programs do any of you use to under volt the chips?

 

You're not the only one that has noticed it. I have it and I know of one other user that has noted the same thing.

BTW XP, either x86 or x64 does not like this notebook. Tried to install on a spare drive and it blue screened on me when it was getting to load the OS. Think it may be a SATA driver issue as discussed here.

It may not be worth my trouble. If I do I will redo each of my XP install disks to include the drivers and so on blech...

 

since there are a lot of computer savy people on this forum i have one question to ask. After debating whether to get the hdx16 and hdx18 i have decided to get the hdx18 because of the screen size which will double as my tv but i wanted to know what is the best configuration to get if i will not play games on it but can multitask without problems (like downloading, watching youtube, and converting movies and audio at the same time.)

 

I'm having a problem with the black levels on Blu-Ray discs. Has anyone else noticed this? When I play DVDs the black level looks fine. A solid black in the DVD video looks the same as a solid black in Windows. However, when I play a Blu-Ray disc, "black" looks gray. I've tried playing the Blu-Ray discs in both HP MediaSmart and PowerDVD 8 and I've tried adjusting the brightness and contrast in PowerDVD and in the Nvidia control panel. Even when I turn brightness to 0, the screen goes gray, not black. The terrible black level is bad enough that I think regular DVDs look better than Blu-Ray.

Has anyone else experienced this? Has anyone found a way to get the Blu-Ray black to look as dark as the black in Windows and on DVD video?

 

Ok I finally got everything to work on an x64 fresh install, including MEdiaSmart. I then loaded VMware Workstation to run Windows Server 2008 as a VM.

2008 ran fine as a VM but Workstation does not pass the VT thru to the VM so I cant load Hyper V.

So - anyone have any luck with drivers for Windows server 2008 on the HDX?

 

This is probably a dumb question, but you have ENABLED the Virtualization Technology option in the BIOS, right? The default setting (at least on my two '18's) was disabled.

 

this thread is moving fast


BTW,I have 2 questions,and I ll be very happy if you help me-
1)which driver now is the best for 9600gt?
2)I have heard that OC'ing on new hp notebooks is now impossible-is that true?

 

Yes, VT is enabled. Workstation (as a function) does not pass VT thru to the VM. Nor does any other desktop product.. That is why I need to load 2008 and figure I will have issues with drivers.

 

Since 2008 is Vista-based, I'm not sure you will have too many issues. It depends on how much you want detected and working under Server 2008. I think you should be able to get the basics (video, networking, sound, etc), working using Vista x64 drivers.

 

Could someone explain to me how many days I have to return my HP, and what days I should count from.Thank you.

 

HP's website would be the logical place to look, but let me do it for you:

(Found on the Home Page under SHOPPING HELP/Returns & Exchanges)

Return period
We encourage you to try out your products right away so that if there is a problem, you can return them before the returns deadline. We accept returns and exchanges for up to 21 days after delivery, except on opened boxed software, Designjet Z2100 series Printers, HP Color LaserJet CP6015dn Printer, and gift cards (except where required by law). After the 21-day period, you can get support for any product issues from HP Customer Care.

 

When they deliver it from China or when I receive the delivery?

 

21 days from the day you receive it.

 

I am having a problem... wonder if it is just me.
When I close the lid and the HDX18 goes to sleep... later in the day when I open back up .. things move VERY slowly... and at times not at all and I can not shut down. Have had to do a hard shut down by holding the button down...
anyone else? is it a settings issue i am not aware of?
thanks!

oh, and what is this I hear about calibration of the screen? How is this done,and does it improve it visually?

 

I don't have that problem when resuming from sleep.

 

Screen color calibration is only necessary if you're doing photo or graphic work. There are two ways to do this, the cheap 'gestimate' way, or the correct hardware way. Unfortunately I don't know much about the former, but the latter will cost you a bit of money. A hardware calibrator will run you about $60 and up.

This morning I just did a resume from sleep, and had an issue. My monitor was on, but the backlight didn't come on. I'll have to see if it's something I disabled, or something else. Ihaven't had the chance to test it further.

 

I had a problem with the backlight not coming on last week when I turned on my computer in the morning. I turned it on and off several times and tried removing the battery. Finally while I was calling support the backlight came on by itself. I haven't had any problems with the backlight since.

 

I've had the same thing happen regarding the backlight (on my HDX Dragon). Scared the you-know-what out of me! Turned off and back on and the backlight came on.

 

Have to say, I have Windows Server 2008 Enterprise, x64 installed with all drivers working including networking, Bluetooth, Fingerprint, etc.

I also installed the Windows Vista experience so I get Media Player, desktop look alike (not Aero), etc.

Performance is much better than Vista so I'm glad I did 2008.

On now to Hyper-V.

 

hp nptebooks suck

 

Man....our schools nowadays...they can't even teach their kids how to type! Pathetic...