*HP HDX18 Owners Lounge*

PLEASE SOMEONE CHIME IN HERE FOR PETTY!!!? LEST HE OPEN UP HIS HDX WITH YAEGER AND LIMITED GUIDANCE!!!

I'm eager myself to know how the keys are held in there, in the lower left corner of my keyboard the metal under the keys is lifting ever so slightly (just enough to notice) so I may dink around with it if Petty has success.

Take a couple pictures, would you mate.

 

Woo! Returning my HDX 18 today.

WAY TOO BIG. Not a bag in existence that will carry it. (even Ogio backpack on eBags that specifically listed it as being capable of storing the HP HDX 18 didn't zip shut...decided to return the laptop instead of the backpack lol)

Any other HDX users have problems with their wireless? Mine sporadically drops when I'mat distance - connection strength still shows strong and the local network works fine though - something to do with the wireless N card maybe?

 

Thanks, PettyRocks. Now I have hope.

 

HP regularly has $450 - $500 off coupon codes. They sometimes have 30% off coupon codes. If you can wait, you'll likely get a better deal in the next few weeks.

HP doesn't generally price match on coupon codes.

Also, check out live.com (though they cosmically sucked on Black Friday), fatwallet.com, etc. to get additional cashback.

Costco has a 90-day return policy, lifetime technical support, and 2-year warranty, so you may want to go with them again. Prices are usually a little bit better, though that's oddly not the case now.

 

Mine fits in my Dell XPS backpack (granted not in the inside sleeve). Unfortunately with the Intel wireless there are a few default settings that need to be tweaked for it to work at peak. Also with wireless Draft N it is still a "Draft" so it is not finalized so compatibility between vendors is not very good. I have not had any drop outs but I am relatively close.

 

If you use the recovery disk then you will have to live with how it partitions the main drive. If you are more experienced you could use your own Ultimate disk and do the partitions as you like but the simple way is to just use the restore disk. This is the first HP I have had that was not loaded with crap software. the only thing I got rid of was the norton as I use Avast.

BTW that recovery partition (assuming you upgraded to Ultimate) now has the latest install on it. Now, if you have to do a recovery you can run it from the HDD instead of the DVD. This way it runs a lot faster.

 

Hi all,

Can some of the ppl here compare Motherboard specs on their DUAL core and QUAD core machines is order to see if one can buy the machine with a DUAL and upgrade later on???

Thanks in advance,

Steve

 

I got the Vista Home Premium Recovery Discs.
But anyways here's what I did yesterday night after reading all the information about formatting the 2nd hard drive.

Clicked on Windows symbol. I right clicked on "Computer". Clicked on Disk Management. I saw...

1) Disk 0
Basic
298.09 GB
Online

Made up of OS (C: ) and Recovery (D: )

Then I see

2) Disk 1
Unknown
298.09 GB
Not initialized

So I clicked on the black box to the right that was a graphical representation of the hard drive. Underneath the box was "298.09 GB unallocated". Right clicked and then selected "new simple volume".

Wizard popped up. Hit next. It asked to specify volume size and then gave some information

Max disk space in MB: 305,244
Min disk space in MB: 8
Simple volume size in MB: 305,244

Now it allowed me to chance the number for that bottom part (the volume size). I kept it at 305,244. That is the right thing to do right? Hypothetically speaking if I wanted to run the beta version of Windows 7 later on next year would it be better to create 2 separate partitions? And if so how would I go about that?

Anyways I kept at 305,244 just b/c I didn't want to mess with anything. On the next screen it asked to assign drive letter or path. It gave me THREE choices.

1) Assign following letter (F: )
2) Mount in the following empty NTFS folder
3) Do not assign a drive letter or path

I chose option 1. Hit next and went to the "Format Partition" page. It asked to format with the following settings...

File System: NTFS
Allocation unite size: Default

Choices for that include, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16K, 32K, or 64K. Should I choose a specific number or keep it at default.

Then the last item was

Volume labe: New Volume

I can rename that Data right? That's what the original hard drive was named I believe and I like it that way.

Then there was 2 options that could either be checked or unchecked.

1) Perform quick format
2) Enable file and folder compression

Should I check either of those? They were both unchecked when I got to this page. Anyways at the time I left them both unchecked and hit next. Got to the ending page which had a summary. I hit "Finish" and then it said, "The operation cannot be completed because the disk is not initialized."

SO I was back to the main screen "Disk Management". Right clicked on Disk 1 (Unknown) and clicked "Initialize Disk".

The screen said, "Use the following partition style for the selected disks"

MBR (Master Boot Record)

OR

GPT (GUID Partition Table)

"Note: The GPT partition style is not recognized by all previous versions of Windows. It is recommended for disks larger than 2 TB or disks used on Itanium based computers."

So I have no idea which of those to pick. My gut says MBR but I wanted to make sure with you guys before I made a mistake.

Sorry for the wall of posts and the multiple questions. Please take as long as you need to to read and respond.

 

People here have various issues with their sound. Mine is just fine. However sometimes certain songs seem to hit a frequency that makes the speakers vibrate...but overall, it's far from any major issues that would cause me to bring it back...

 

My bag from Targus holds the HDX perfectly. But it is a backpack..


As for the wireless no issues here. I go to work and connect to a 2 year old cisco 1811 wireless router that doesn't support the latest protocols and it works.

At home, I am using a new Linksys Router with all the latest protocols and it works just fine...

 

Yes, someone here has mentioned that you can upgrade to Quad later on.
However, you may not find the price point worth the wait...

 

You did everything right. The volume name could either be default or you can call it whatever you want. It really doesn't matter.

The quick format is just that, quick format. You could have chosen that rather than the long format which is more time consuming but that doesn't really matter either.

As for the MBR, I am not too sure about that so I'd wait for someone to chime in on that. I thought that the MBR should be used only for the primary HDD so that the BIOS knows which active HDD to use as startup.

Anyways, I'd wait for someone to clue us in on that before you do anything further...


Oh, as for Windows 7. If you are planning on playing with that, you may want to create the partition for that now? So instead of fully utilizing all the diskspace, you should only use MOST of it on your 2nd drive and spare maybe 30 gigs for Windows 7 as a small partition that would become the G: drive....

Unless you are going to use partition magic or some other type software, you won't be able to go back and partition your 2nd HDD once you have data on it, so you don't want to lose anything...

Might be good to make that spare partition now....

 

What about the "enable file and folder compression". Should I select that?

And yes I'd like to create a partition that I could use later down the road to test another OS like Windows 7. How would I go about do that?

 

Shipped off my RMA HDX18t today. Goodbye 18.4" screen.

Did get my Dell Covet M6400 (Welcome back 100% Support for XP). Refreshing to see all media included.

You have to see the RGB LED screen to believe how much better it is, wow.

Temps are definitely cooler (as in the max temps under load on the M6400 <= the idle temps of the HDX18t Quad). I never had my Quad Core HDX18t crash under load, but I am blown away at just how cool the Quad runs in the M6400.

Heat is non-existent when gaming on the M6400 versus the HDX18t where the left palm rest would heat up. The GPU temps are cooler too (and the FX3700 in the M6400 is a 9800M gtx basically on roids). In short, the thermal specs of the HDX18t aren't that great, but it never crashed or locked up so that was a plus.

3Dmark06 is down right scary. Single card (Nvidia Quadro FX3700, 1gb) on the M6400 with 180.48 drivers = 12171 3DMark06

To put it in perspective:

HP HDX18t (9600M GT) = (SM20 = 1651, SM30 = 1446) (Total Score = 4252)
Gateway 7811 (9800M GTS) = (SM20 = 3987, SM30 = 3794)
Dell M6400 (QUADRO FX3700) = (SM20 = 5116, SM30 = 4868) (Total Score = 12171)

Both the M6400 and HDX18t had Intel QX9300 Quad Cores in them.

Definitely liked the futuristic look of the HDX18t, but the construction of the M6400 is much more solid.

Only list of knocks on the HDX18t:

Weak GPU
Undersized Function and Cursor Keys
Thermal management

 

Hate to see you go off HDX18t
Please visit here often and keep us informed please.

HP surely has a job cut out for them in upgrading this 18t from current form.
Otherwise, a massive Returns with RMA.

 

No, do not enable that.....that will slow down your system. All that does is compress all files on that drive so you can virtually have more space, it's not important anymore in my opinion with today's massive HDD's...

 

Okay and can someone give me a definitive answer about the MBR vs GPT thing for initializing the hard drive. I tried researching it and I'm a little confused. It appears like MBR would be necessary since in the future I'd want to boot Windows 7 beta from it. Is that true?

Which one should I go with and why?

Last but not least after that's done how do I go about creating that partition for Windows 7 beta?

 

Thanks Laura and "Vistabad".

I went ahead and ordered it from Costco because of the 90 day return and 2 year warranty. Once I configured it (maxed out), it was still cheaper at Costco! I hope I don't get a clunker like many here have been reporting. It's kind of shakey reading all of the negative crap, but I got my company to get me "any laptop I wanted", so I went for this one. I hope it's good, because this is a total one-time shot for me. If this sucks, it's gotta suck in the first 90 days or I'll be stuck with an expensive pile of stuff!

 

Congrats! I think you'll know right away if you'll like it or not. I know there has been negative feedback on this product, but I can say that there are those who had have perfectly working HDX's...

My instinct tells me you'll get a good one...

 

Awesome.

The good (?!) news is that the problems reported here are build-related problems that show up right away or fairly soon.

Hope you get a perfect HDX.

 

Thanks to you both. I'll be sure to report in here with the verdict. It's supposed to ship on January 2nd.

Everyone have a great Christmas!

 

In theory you could "clone" the recovery partition, put in a folder in the the C: partition and delete the recovery partition.This way you will have all HDD space in a single partition and see xxxGB free of 298GB.

But it is not a recommended thing to do because you lose the whole purpose of the recovery partition.Let me be more clear.The purpose they save the recovery data on a different partition (D: ) , is because when you have to recover the system partition (C: ) , the automatic recovery program simply deletes the C: partition, and then restores it by using the data from the recovery partition.It is obvious that you can't have the recovery data in the same partition that will be deleted before restoring!

 

heh, sort of an 'update' on the Caddy kit for the hDX18's 2nd drive bay...

http://newmodeus.com/shop/index.php...id=204&zenid=648a80105add72b2371a46d804ff2ccb

 

I appreciate that they are working on the caddy kit. I think they will eventually get one for us.

For the time being, the work around solution to use the optical bay is not an option. If you go that route, at least the touchpad area won't feel too warm as those who have 2 HDD's have mentioned, but still, I like my BR drive...

 

That's a good explanation. Also if the D: drive really gets annoying he has 2 options.

1) Burn a copy of your recovery disk onto DVD. Then you can delete that partition.

2) Copy all the files onto his 2nd HDD and just make a folder for it like: HP Recovery.

I've never done a recovery off the actual partition, I've always used a disk, but I suppose you should be able to choose where on your 2nd HDD the files are?

The D: drive has always been the usual optical drive. But with more and more PC's coming with their own backup partition, they are taking the D: drive letter and pushing the optical drive off to the E: slot..

 

Correct

That is exactly the reason why you didin't see the 2nd HDD.Just I said in my previous message, it was simply not initialized/formatted

There is not really a right or wrong thing to do.It depends on how you want to divide or classify your data.For example you can make a "music" partition for your MP3 and a "movie" partition for yous videos etc.Or you can live the whole space in a single partition and just use separare foldes.It is up to you.If you plan to install Windows 7 in the future you can as well make a separate partition and reserve some space for it.

NTFS is ok.
For allocation unite size just choose default.It is ok for almost all users.
Changing it is for expert users that have specific needs such as database data etc.

Yes you can rename it as you want.
Anyway don't worry about it too much because you can rename it anytime under My computer by right clicking on the name.It is just a label.

You could perform quick format.It is almost the same procedure just much more faster.
Don't enable file and folder compression.You gain some HDD space but it makes the system slower because anytime you want to access a compressed file the PC has to first uncompress it making the whole operation just slower.

I think that MBR is the correct option if you want to install and boot with another operating system but i'm not sure 100% about that

 

btw - Miltigiant 20 on Amazon, 42 bucks, works great. Nice bfcase style, good construction, does not look cheap.

 

Thanks vistabad, that would be a valid alternative.It should work but I have never tested it myself.I did a total system recover only once on my old HP dv6000 notebbok but I used the DVD recovery disks I had made myself, not the recovery partition.I wanted to test the disks.

As far the drive letter is concerned, strangely enough HP assigned the E: letter for the recovery partition on my new HDX18, leaving the D: letter unassigned!
The second HDD had the F: letter and the Blu-Ray optical drive had the G: letter assigned...
I found this a bit strange but for sure it is not a problem.

 

Thanks for all the help. I did it yesterday and it worked fine. I used MBR.

And then I created a simple volume of 30G for beta testing the new version of Windows. So the 2nd hard drive has 2 partitions. More importantly Vista sees both hard drives.

Anyways I'm loving this laptop. It doesn't get hot at all. Very quiet. The design is beautiful.

I've installed all the programs I had from my previous laptop. Now just reinstalling Norton Internet Security 2009 and I should be done. I got rid of most of the bloatware. But overall I'm very pleased with the HDX 18t.

 

Hi CK,
How does your 18t screen look outside in sunlight?
Ed F.

 

I haven't used it outside in sunlight and to be honest I rarely do that so it's not much of a big factor me. I can tell indoors it's absolutely fine for me.

I mean I'll be using this at home, in the library at school, and maybe once in a while at a meeting with friends at random locales. But as far as outside directly in the sun I don't see myself in that situation a lot.

Sorry I wish I could tell you more. I know you're looking for a laptop that doesn't have horrible glare. Have you ordered one already or still deciding?

 

Huh?

I think not. Plenty of "elated" HDX18t owners here.

 

Yes, any glossy screen is reflective in nature, and direct sunlight is not ideal. It's a trade-off. The "anti-glare" screen looks very dull to most, but if you were going to use the laptop constantly in a bright environment you would either opt for a model with an anti-glare screen or you would learn to accept the glare.

 

Wow that is very strange? Maybe because you had 2 HDD's they got confused? Now you have a D: that is not assigned correct?

If that happened to me, I think my OCD would kick in and I would have to start re-arranging the drive letters just so that they are all used in order!!

 

Good job! See, it wasn't very hard after all was it?

The 30G should be more than enough for playing with Windows 7.

In fact, when I get my second HDD, I will probably do the same thing. And if Windows7 is THAT much better and all the drivers work, then I will make it my permanent OS...

 

right.. The new Apple MBP's I hear are HORRIBLE outside. You can't even take a picture of the laptop without a major reflection off of it.

I am sure in the future, perhaps with OLED or something better, they will figure out a good balance between these reflective screens and color/brightness output....

 

You are not alone you know!I am a bit maniac on these things too!
I did re-arrange the drive letters just to have them in order!
As a matter of fact it is not only an order issue.Before rearranging the letters, when I used a USB key or an external disk, it logged using the first available letter and that was obviously the D: letter. That was a bit annoying because on "My Computer" we are used to find it visually as the last drive-letter connected and not among the other partitions

 

Exactly!! There is a certain "zen" that one must follow and when you have out of order drive letters, it ruins the flow...

 

How are you partitioning, VB?

 

Right now I am not partitioning at all. But when I can get a 2nd drive caddy, I will partition the drive so I can put Windows 7 on it....

 

yep, same, not an option for me either.

 

Anyone hear that nvidia will be offering laptop drivers from their website directly?

I'm curious if there's an update version that we need to download. And if anyone has tried it yet.

 

have you downloaded the latest drivers from Laptopvideo2go?

 

Are you saying they are or just wondering if they are?

I know someone contacted them before and they said we have to contact HP for specific nvidia drivers for our laptops.

I don't think we can ever get direct support from them ever! It's not following the chain of command...

 

OK I submitted to the vista, can I come to the back of the bus and hang out with you cool guys now?

Vista Ultimate 32.

I am complete with the exception of the fingerprint.

Driver loaded from HP page, but no link to a software for it. So I loaded verisoft, and it does not see the reader that is clearly in my device manager.

Do these come with the verisoft or the digitalpersona?

 

hahaha! Wait a minute, so you dumped XP????

 

I was saying that they are available thru nVidia's website now. I was wondering if anyone has heard that bit of news and/or tried it out....

Anyways when I get a chance I'm gonna play a Bluray movie and make sure the Bluray drive is working perfectly.

 

yes VB, xp is having to be let go (on this machine).

in the end, i couldn't force any irq settings in the bios, and I couldn't find the root of my firewire adapter crackling. so now i am just starting the whole vista learning process. i am still streamlining the install, but not bad so far. I will say that I honestly have nothing to complain about yet. But it's been 2 days.

Hey, what is your software that your fingerprint reader uses? Do tell.

 

Can anybody answer this simple question for me.

Am I able to output the video from the HDMI port to a NON-HDCP compliant monitor? I've tried using an HDMI to DVI cable from my HDX18 to my 24" Dell 2405 (non-HDCP) and get no picture, although the monitor IS being recognised.

Trying the same thing with the VGA out works fine. So, I assume getting an image out via the HDMI to a non-HDCP display is a no go?

 

I went to the sonystyle store today and looked at both the AW as well as the FW systems there. The AW even with an awesome RGB display did not impress especially when the blu-ray disc hiccuped. Of course the knock was made Vs the intervideo software and the fix suggested was to rip it first to the HD. Yeah right!!! For well over $3000.00 I expect perfect and not workarounds. I prefer plug and play over plug and pray any day. So now it seems my future is more certain than ever a HDX 18t for me, and maybe a 16t for my daughter or maybe both 16t's to be determined. With respect to the 18t I'd appreciate any feedback from the 2.53/2.80 GHz duo as well as the quad processor owners, the dual 250/320Gb drives @ 7200 rpm and the dual 500Gb @ 5400 rpm too. Performance, noise, heat, opinions, experiences, etc. Many thanks in advance for your valuable inputs.