*HP HDX18 Owners Lounge*

I've ordered my HP HDX 18t today @ ~1750 incl Tax and Shipping although I did use the 25% Live cashback link so hopefully that goes through.

# Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
# Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T9400 (2.53 GHz)
# 18.4" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)
# 2GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
# 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
# FREE Upgrade to 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
# Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Fluid)
# HP Color Matching Keyboard
# Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
# Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
# No TV Tuner w/remote control
# 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

However I was looking around and found amazon.com/gp/product/B001GQ35NG/ref=s9subs_c1_147_at1-rfc_p-frt_g1-3237_p_si1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0MGWVRMBC6ZFKE0GDQCB&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=463383351&pf_rd_i=507846

which is basically
P8400 2.26 GHz
4GB Ram
2x250GB HDDs @ 5400 RPM

This is priced at 1554$

So I was wondering if I should cancel my order at HP.com and order the Amazon one. My main concern is the processor; P8400 vs T9400. Also if the cashback doesn't go through @ 25% I'll be in somewhat of a mess

 

If your cashback doesn't go through you can always cancel/return the model to HP and go through amazon.
however, HP hates returns, so you may end up getting discounted again.

 

I hate you.

 

Well I finally rebuilt my HDX with my new 7200RPM seagate and it now has 4GIG's of g.skill ram.

Now I can finally start loading my programs and personalizing this PC...

 

I just loaded up the 4 gig of Ram and the Hdd also still wait for the ultimate to load. Man I have had my new computer since monday and haven't been able to do really anything with it yet. This sucks. Between work, which was supposed to be a laid back three days and my prego daughter I haven't had time for nothing. Although I did find a reciever that will work with what I wantto do. Now I just need the TV prices to fall down down down. Not to long of a wait any more.

 

Hey Vista, Lancorp,
How long did it take for the new Vista ultimte to load?

 

Depending on how long it takes HP to build the laptop this may or may not work. I know one of my previous cashbacks, it took almost near the 60 days that MS requires. If it's 60 days, he may not have enough time to return the HP before his 21 days are up.

 

If you mean from the recovery dvd kit you order from HP...A LONG TIME.

Just be patient...it does a real, sector-by-sector format of the Hard drive which takes forever.

 

Thanks it just finshed and now I get to set everything up again.

 

Ohhh it took awhile....you're better off setting it and going to watch a movie or something....hmmm about 1 hour? I didn't really time it....

 

Is the cyberlink suite of applications free for us or is this just one of those trial things? I'm trying to remove anything that's trial and keeping anything that's thrown in for free by HP...

 

It's free, it's the full version. It's not great, but it's free, so not worth complaining over

 

This 200+ page thing is killing me.

Eyes burning.

Must....look away.

Has anyone gotten the xp 32 sp3 going yet with success, and I don't care about the tuner(that i don't have)

 

Someone took the liberty of posting the wallpapers to all of the notebooks...
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=309237

 

Hmm. I may have run into a SIGNIFICANT snag with my new HDX 18t. It has to do with PowerPoint 2007 (which is an absolutely vital purpose for this laptop for me).

It seems that when I have "Hardware Acceleration" checked for a slide show, the animations for each slide are very smooth but the transitions between each slide are delayed as much as 2 to 5 seconds. (Click the spacebar to advance a slide... wait... wait... wait... ah, there it is.) If I turn off Hardware Acceleration, then the transitions between slides are instant but the animations are very choppy.

Browsing through lots of tech support sites seems to suggest a common solution: adjust the hardware acceleration for the video driver (Display Settings | Advanced Settings | Troubleshoot | Change Settings button). Unfortunately, that button is grayed out and has this delightful message below it: "Your current display driver does not allow changes to be made to hardware acceleration settings."

So a quick trip to the nVidia site to see if there's an updated video driver for this notebook's card -- and letting it automatically detect the card and select the appropriate driver -- results in this message: "HP requires that you download the driver for your GPU from their support site."

Of course, that leads me to the current driver that's installed on the notebook, which may be the source of the problem.

Grrrr. I know what I'll be doing this morning -- troubleshooting an annoying little graphic driver glitch and its connection to PowerPoint. Bleh.

 

Within the nVidia graphics control panel or whatever it's called, they allow you to set certain GPU capabalities for any program. So say powerpoint uses the process: powerpoint.exe

Then in the nVidia panel, you select powerpoint.exe and then check off all the GPU options for it. This way you ARE messing around with specific GPU options but for powerpoint only and not the entire machine....

This is good for older games too that may have trouble running on Vista/nVidia...

 

I have a similar issue with Zinio Digital reader (for digital editions of magazines). When page flipping animation is set on, it takes 5 seconds to flip pages (with the cool page-flipping animation). WIth animation turned off, it's instantaneous.

Probably, somehow, the two issues are connected.

 

Try my options above...but before you do that, did you try running in WinXP SP2 compatability mode just to make sure?

 

Played around a bit with the settings in the nVidia panel -- scary stuff, since I don't understand what most of that stuff means. Not even sure what to change to make a difference.

Played around a bit more in PowerPoint to try and narrow down the problem. Apparently the problem is affected by the chosen display resolution for the slide show. If I leave it on the default ("use current resolution"), the delay between slides is longer than if I reduce it to, say 1024x768. My guess is that implies it's definitely related to the way PowerPoint is interacting with the graphics card. The lower resolution requires less pixels to be processed for the slide transition, so it's a little bit quicker than with a higher resolution. But we're talking a matter of degrees here; 1024x768 may be faster than 1920x1080, but they're both delayed.

I figured out that it has nothing to do with specific animations within a slide (i.e., a picture that fades in, text that animates across the slide, etc.); those work fine.

The problem is centered around transitions between slides in PowerPoint 2007. If I remove all transitions so that slides just pop from one to the next, then things move along just fine. But the moment I apply the transition animation, I'm back to a long delay between slides.

What's more, only some transition effects are impacted by this. The problem seems specific to fading effects. Choosing a wipe or something works fine. EDIT: Oops. Spoke too soon. There are a bunch of other transitions that don't work correctly. Bleh.

And if that's not enough, the previews for the transitions -- including fade effects -- work just fine. The problem only manifests itself when actually running the presentation in full-screen mode (which, of course, is what PowerPoint is all about, so it's kinda vital).

I'm thinking more and more that it's a driver problem.

 

Good job with the troubleshooting. see, these are the kind of little things that irks people. I'm not blaming Vista, you just never know what kind of things won't work when you get a new laptop.

I like to play Red Alert 2. Simple, clean 2D game that works lightning fast on any modern PC or cheap $600 laptop. But it doesn't work well on the HDX. It runs slow....so I too am trying to find a work around.

Our HDX's are too powerful for it to be any kind of CPU or GPU issue. It's gotta come down to a miscommunication with the drivers...

Any other explanation is unacceptable...

 

Well, I took the plunge and updated the video drivers using the latest modified ones from laptopvideo2go (version 180.70 for Vista 64).

Worked just fine.

Didn't solve the problem.

 

I think it has to do with our 1080p resolution. can you hook up the laptop to an external monitor and try it out and different resolutions?

 

Sure. I just hooked it up to my kids' LCD monitor and tried running the presentation several different ways. The problem persists.

One new thing I noticed, however: While waiting for a slide to transition on the second monitor, I'm seeing the little Vista "wait" dial (that blue circle that spins while we're waiting for something to load up). So at least the system knows that I'm waiting for it to display the next slide.

Oh, and for what it's worth, two more things I tried:

• 
  I loaded the entire PowerPoint presentation on a flash drive, transferred it over to two different computers -- a desktop and an older laptop -- and it ran flawlessly. So it's not the presentation's problem.
  I installed a Printer. I know, I know... what's that got to do with it? Well, several troubleshooting sites mention that PowerPoint 2007 gets all snarky if there isn't a default printer installed. So I did that, following instructions from another site. Didn't make a difference.

I just gotta get this fixed. I was planning on using the new laptop with PowerPoint at a speaking opportunity this weekend.

 

One more thing:

If I turn off "Hardware Acceleration" within PowerPoint, the slide transitions are nice and zippy but the animations (fading picture, moving text, or whatever) look crummy. But at least they don't look as bad on the lower resolution secondary monitor as they do on our nice HDX 18t screens. The lower resolution of the secondary monitor means that you can't see just how badly it sucks.

Heh...

Okay, not a fix. I know. Just trying to find the humor in the midst of a tense problem.

 

Well I have Powerpoint 2003. If you're at all interested, I can take a look at your powerpoint in 2003 if it even will even work and see if the problem is with 2003 as well?

Other than that, I guarantee you that we can resolve this issue, it's probably just a silly issue somewhere that just takes some time to figure out..

I've been in this kind of situation a million times...

 

Hey guys, I hope you all get yours, but live cashback emailed today, says my cashback has been canceled since I returned, exchanged, or canceled my roder. Obviously I didn't do any of the three. But either way I guess I tried for the heck of it and didn't get it.

 

Thanks. Just tried it in PP 2003 on my old laptop (by saving it as a 2003 file). Same problem when it hits the fading transtion between slides.

I'm noticing that once the fading slide transition actually takes place, it looks just fine. The problem is with the brief delay before it fires the transition (while the Vista "wait wheel" spins for a couple of seconds). Hmm. What is the system doing that makes that "wait wheel" appear? Whatever it is, it's doing it with Hardware Acceleration and not software acceleration.

Just for kicks, I tried the really long, time-consuming, and cumbersome workaround. I can create a slide, make an exact duplicate, create my next slide and paste it on top of the duplicate so that it fades in on top of the previous slide as an animation rather than transitioning between two slides. This makes for a HUGE file (especially if I totally load it up with pictures, which I've tried), yet it's *still* faster than a simple text-to-text slide transition.

It's almost as if PowerPoint is asking the GPU (or it's driver?) for information on how to display the fade between two slides. It doesn't seem to need that information for a picture that fades as an animation, but only between slides. Hmmmm.

 

Still trying stuff, and I'm increasingly convinced it has something to do with how PowerPoint is connecting to the GP driver on our HDX 18ts.

Using the nVidia control panel and setting up custom settings for PowerPoint, I've tried it with everything set to the absolute max possible as well as everything set to completely off.

Doesn't make a difference.

 

Did that email come during the 60 day wait period or were you due the money today?
I have 17 days to wait on the first CB of 270.00 and then had to contact Live.com and attach my receipt from HP (and I also included a printscreen of the 25% cashback offer).. that same day they credited my account 700.00 (now just waiting 55 more days!).

 

Try changing your Vista theme. Are you using aero? Try Vista Basic...maybe it might be the colors?

 

Wow if HP had more employees like Ryan they'd be freaking awesome. Thanks to him my money for the return will be credited earlier than usual. This will allow me to buy the re order sooner! I think the money will be back in my account by midnight and then tomorrow morning I'll place the order.

 

I finally was able to try out my HDX. I'm happy to report, that there are no cosmetic, or physical defects. I've tried every piece of hardware/software and everything works. The backups take quite some time, to complete. Everyone in my office, could not believe the size of this thing. To me, there's alot of bloatware installed. Mr. Norton is always attempting, to say "hello". I'm a NOD32 guy, myself. The boot up time is approximately 65 seconds. Shut down is 35 seconds. I'll change out the Primary hard drive, delete the fat, complete my mods and report back, with boot up/shut down times. Did I say, this thing is huge!!!

Al ..

 

Hallaluja, I was wondering if I have to put up with my 3rd cosmetically defective unit. Keep both my eyes closed and I'll never notice lol.

Anyway, just to highlight some positive I saw, I'm much happier with the T9400 vs P8400, for me, the processor is keeping up nicely. It does get hotter at the bottom near the 'sub' woofer. I got the two hard drive option, and althought I originally thought it would heat up the right side of the palm rest, it does not at all (or just a tad bit). It is not any noisier either. It does weigh more though.

 

Yeah it came about a week after the laptop arrived (during the 60 day wait period.) So I don't know what I can do.....It was a good chunk of change I was suppose to get back too.

 

Good to hear. I haven't time my bootup but 65 seconds sounds like an awfully long time? I already got rid of Norton. I'm keeping the Cyberlink stuff because it's free, and I'm still tracking down stuff that I don't need.

For example, I see that HP has

TVCapSvc.exe, TVAgent.exe and TVSched.exe running and I DON"T HAVE a TV Tuner!!! So I find this ridiculous as well as it takes about 20-30 megs of RAM...

Also, what the heck is PresentationFontCache.exe???

 

I just saw your post after doing a Google search. I was wondering if you had any luck sourcing the 2nd hard drive parts below (you were able to get the pricing somehow so at least you were able to go one step further than I was). I tried calling HP parts (and the resellers they "recommended"), HP general support, and HDX support, but nobody had any clue as to where or even when it would be available.

496889-001: Rubber Cushions - $24US
496890-001: Screw Kit - $27US
496891-001: Cable Kit - $60US
496880-001: Enclosure & Bracket - $120US

Any help would definitely be appreciated.

 

well, i just received the same email from live.com even though i had not cancelled the order (was for the HDX16).
was expecting the cash in 16 days.
i emailed them for clarification.
Has ANYONE ever received cash back from an HP purchase?

 

Another option to getting a second HD is to use you laptop drive bay as a second HD, it cost about $45 for the kit.

 

Which part number is this?

 

search my post, someone else posted about the website, and i posted a direct link.

 

FYI, once you say "show me the money" after 60 days, MS quotes 7 more days before the money is deposited in your paypal account.

Mine is still showing as "pending" in my live.com account...keeping my fingers crossed! (actually, there is no reason they shouldn't pay me...it was their offer!

 

Lancorp, did you use a coupon with this (live) purchase?

 

Depends...do you work for Microsoft in the live.com cashback department?

 

HAHAHAHA, NO SIR, I work for a Telecom. Simply asking for my own info...holding my breathe for black friday deal...trying to figure out my own "discount".

 

Hi everyone

Just ordered my first HP, a HDX18 with the following specs

HP HDX18t Premium Series customizable Notebook PC

* Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
* Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T9400 (2.53 GHz)
* 18.4" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)
* 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
* 640GB 7200RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (320GB x 2) with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* Webcam + Fingerprint Reader with HP Imprint Finish (Fluid)
* HP Color Matching Keyboard
* Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
* Lightscribe Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
* System Recovery DVD with Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit)

Anyways, after I made my choice about which laptop I was getting (chose the HP over the Sony Vaio AW and Acer) is when I came to this forum. After reading all the great info in this thread, I noticed that that most people got huge (25%) discounts on their purchases. I want to take advantage of this discount, can I return the two laptops I ordereded (both HDX 18s with identical specs as posted above) and then reorder through live.com and get cashback? Also, if this is possible, can I apply the two year extended service plans that I bought to the new purchase?

Any help would really be appreciated, as my order is about to be built and I want to know weather I should cancel or not.

 

Hello:
I looked in the BIOS and did not find the option to boot from the 2nd HD. Those of you running multiple operating systems: do you use a boot manager like Acronis Boot Manager or other boot managers?
I am trying to install hackintosh on drive 2.

 

What do you all use for that: Acronis Trueimage, Norton Ghost or something else.
I had in the past problems with both programs.
Did anyone try one of those two and had it work as promised?

 

came across this usb tv tuner, hauppauge only $20:

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=209619&om_keycode=388565

 

I'm sorry no luck. The part numbers listed above are the result of another fourm members diligent work.

I havent had the time to track down these parts as I am in the midst of moving from Tampa FL to Seattle WA. Im in Texas at the moment.

 

Assuming the cash back works then yes you should cancel and reorder. Do it QUICKLY however cuz the longer you wait the cancel the more likely it is that HP won't be able to cancel and they'll still ship it.

Also keep in mind that technically you're NOT supposed to use any other coupons when you buy the laptop. The automatic $200 OFF on HP's website is okay but things like 30% OFF or an additional $200 off aren't going to work and your cashback will be canceled.

So again if you're gonna do cashback cancel as soon as possible.

Nice specs on the laptop by the way. I'm going to be ordering my replacement in a few hours or at maximum within the day. Then I'll be extremely thankful to God on this Thanksgiving Day!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone....