*HP dm4t (1XXX series) Owners Lounge!*

I hear ya on the broken plastic tabs..btdt

I agree, if it's that new, I'd talk to Hp about repairs...better yet, I'd ask for a new laptop and let them fix yours and resell the original in their refurbs..

The reason I say that is I went thru a similar overheating problem with an HP laptop that I bought in 2007...I got one with an AMD processor which were very, very hot running to begin with... and after about 11 months it wouldn't boot.
So I sent it in, Hp was very good about free shipping and sending me return packaging, 3 to 4 weeks later I get it back, it works for about a week and starts doing it again....Sent it in again, 3 to 4 weeks, get it back, and the bios is now asking for a password....evidently the tech mucked around and set a password that no one knew and I had to send it back a third time for a new motherboard and new fan/heatsink assembly...the whole process took around 3 months! I finally got a working computer back and it lasted about another year until it started doing it again at which point I threw it in the scrap-heap...$700 lappy that I got 2 years out of it and a ton of headaches....ymmv...so that's why I'd ask for a replacement esp if it's that new or go to the store/etailer you got it from as most have a 30 day return policy....

 

Yes it's new but it's also a custom configured system purchased via shopping.hp.com. Getting another system from the same Shanghai production line doesn't make me feel too good. Either way I'm rolling the dice that HP can do something right.

 

Chatted with HP online and the last resort was to do a recovery but the right speaker is still crackling. Got a repair order and a prepaid box is on it's way.

 

Greetings and happy new year. Your son has a very generous father I have dissassembled three of the dm4 laptops and they are very difficult to get apart. Yes, you must fully dissassemble to get to the heatsink and fan. Also, the latest generation of HP laptops are garbarge in comparison to the previous generation. It appears to be all about cost cutting at HP. The plastics are brittle and break very easily on dissasembly. The designs are great but the build quality is horrible.

In regards to your heating issue, I feel you simply have a defective unit. I have had three dm4 laptops with I7 processors which generate a little more heat than your I5, but none of them has had any serious heating issues. The overall design of the cooling system is more than adequate, it simply goes back to the horrible build quality.

In regards to HP repairing a laptop, if its going to the California repair facility, I would be prepared to order a new one before your 21 day no questions asked return policy expires. The CA facility is TERRIBLE! They stole parts from one of my laptops and repalced them with lesser items and refurbished hard drives. This was particularly annoying since the took ram and swapped hard drives and wireless cards that were not even defective. Also they repeatedly scratched up my laptops every time one came back from this facility. They never were able to repair a touchpad problem on my dv4. On top of all that, everytime a laptop came back from the CA facility, it would have several new severe level viruses. Examine your laptop carefully when it returns to make sure it is still the same equipment you sent, the problem is fixed, it contains no new viruses and it isnt covered with scratches. I can not say this strongly enough to anyone who may be reading....if you are still in the 21 day exchange period, order a new one...do not send it in for repair.

I used to be a huge HP fan, but after going through five dm4 laptops, all of which had some kind of manufacturing flaw, I have lost faith. Their customer service has fallen to even lower levels, and their repair facilities are a joke. Yes the designs are great, and if you dont mind ordering multiple times to get a good one, then go for it. I hope someone at HP reads this as I have had no luck in getting anyone in upper management to listen to what is going on. Ok, my two cents worth may be a little long, but thought people might want to know. Take care everyone

 

Hi,
My friend is going to purchase a laptop for school use and he needs mobility and also he wants to play some games(on low resolution doesn't matter but has to be fluent) so he is decided upon HP dm4 1041tx with i5-450m processor,3GB RAM,HD 5450 1GB graphics
And he also wants to play GTA4 so is it playable on low settings?

 

Hi everyone,

We bought a dm4t a couple of months ago and so far, we're relatively pleased with it. However, there are a few problems that we haven't been happy with. From what I've read in this thread, they are the most common issues (e.g. keyboard).

One issue that I have not read about is the wireless connection dropping fairly easily. We have the Broadcom chip. I did a clean install of Win7 and used the Broadcom driver from http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...-hp-dm4-dv5-gen-2-g32-cq32-envy-14-intel.html. I did notice, however, that when you go to HP's driver download site ( Software & Driver Downloads HP Pavilion dm4t-1100 CTO Entertainment Notebook PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English), Broadcom is not listed. So I'm a bit confused as to whether I have a Broadcom chip or not. Before I did the clean install, I went into the Device Manager and made a copy of everything, and the WLAN device was listed as Broadcom. Is there a way to verify which WLAN chip we have?

For now, the main problem has been the dm4t staying connected to our Verizon FiOS ActionTec (rev E) modem/router. Given the version of this router, the dm4t is connected over 802.11g. The dm4t has stayed connected on other WiFi networks and stayed solid. So I'm thinking it's more our router than anything else. But trying to see if anyone else has the same or similar problem.

Thanks.

 

I have the dm3 -3012nr with the broadcom 4313 802.11b/g/n wifi adaptor
driver; Version:5.60.350.11
and it's work flawlessly for the 2 wks that I've owned the dm3
Here a link:
Software & Driver Downloads HP Pavilion dm3-3012nr Entertainment Notebook PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

 

Hi -

I've had my DM4 since August and have been pretty happy with it, until the other day, when the left hinge broke. Looking at it, it looks like a stress break in the metal hinge, which I was quite surprised to see looks pretty light weight. Now I haven't dropped my laptop or handled it roughly. I will admit moving it from room to room with the lid open, but in talking with HP's customer service, they are insisting that it must be due to abuse and that hinges are not covered under warranty. They say they will repair it if I send it in for nearly $300, which, of course, is nearly a third of the laptop's price!

Has anyone else had problems with the hinges or heard of problems? A Google search doesn't show anything for the DM4, but does show some previous HP's had similar problems. Any suggestions on next steps...I spent an hour and a half on the phone today, talking to three different agents, none of whom were very helpful - I felt as if they were reading from a script. Does anyone know if it's true the hinges aren't covered under warranty? I reviewed the warranty book and couldn't see any such reference.

 

What programs did you guys uninstall when you got yours? My sister just got one, and the startup time seems slow for a laptop that's significantly faster than mine (sig) in terms of hard drive and processor. I think its all the bloatware. So whats useful and what isn't?

Also, did you turn the "fan always on" setting to disabled in the BIOS? I just did this, seems like a pointless thing to have on by default.

 

There's a thread for the HP Bloatware Guide, but I haven't saved the link - but you should check this one out also if you're looking to speed up the startup times http://forum.notebookreview.com/not...icles/285280-computer-optimization-guide.html

 

Anyone else with this phenomenon ?

 

I have had my dm4 since June and have been relatively happy with it. However, within the last month or so I've noticed a relatively loud hum from the left corner of the computer near the screen. I'm assuming this is the fan noise, however, it is really annoying when in a loud room. Has anyone else had this same frustration or is there any way to remedy this problem? Thanks.

 

Have you disabled "fan always on" in the BIOS? Press either delete or f12 (i forget which) to get to the BIOS after powering it on, look for the setting and turn it to disabled. The fan will still come on if the laptop gets warm, theres no point in always having it on.

 

By the time I saw your reply, it was already off to Texas for repair. The "repair" took less time that promised. When we got it back, all the components appeared to be intact. However, the repair ticket said the work they did consisted of "reassembly".

Guess what? The system had the same problems as before. This time I chatted with a rep. to get an RMA. Since I used a coupon, she referred me to an 866 number. Thinking the worse (see my original post), I called this morning. The rep. was very efficient, worked quickly, was knowledgeable and, thus far, has followed through with his promises.

I elected to exchange the system for the same model. Yes, you may think I'm crazy, but I'm hoping we just got a lemon the first time. When it was all configured, I learned the ATI discrete graphics processor has been upgraded. In addition, HP was going to refund me $100 since prices had dropped a little. I opted to upgrade to the i7 CPU for a portion of the refund.

Return shipping label was e-mailed to me within minutes. The old one will be boxed up tonight. Per the rep., the factory will fast track the new system, which should take about five days to build.

I'll post again once I have an update.

 

Its sad to see HP's repair services are still sub par. It will be interesting to see how the new model performs. The third generation of the dm4 was released on Jan. 9, so your new one should have all the lastest updates and fixes. Keep us posted and take care.

 

Dang, that's terrible. I would have filed a complain if that happen to me.
Mine is four months old; and part of the screen has some slight discoloration (not a serious problem, but annoying when watching a movie). Now, I don't know if I should send mine in for service as I am in CA...

 

How is the performance of HD6370 in games?

 

Finally got my laptop back. The right speaker doesn't crackle anymore (crossing fingers) but the volume is still on the low side. Funny thing is that they promised the laptop would be delivered by the 14th then I got a call that it was going to be delivered on the 28th but I got it on the 21st. Go figure.

 

Has anbody been able to use to the left sided USB/eSATA port with a USB device? It doesn't seem to fit?

 

I'm having the exact same issue. Bought in August, did not do any serious damage to my laptop (though I do sometimes carry it inbetween rooms with the screen open), and now my left-side hinge makes a scary cracking sound every time I open up my laptop. I'm scared to send it in for repairs because I live off this thing (college students would understand; I cannot go a day without using my laptop ), so I'm hoping it lasts me until summer and then I'll worry about repairs.

It works fine for me.

 

I'll take a few minutes to update on HP's exchange service, which was terrible, but I finally got what I was promised - sort of. If you read my previous post, HP offered to exchange the defective dm4t for a new one. The rep. also stated I would receive a $100 refund since prices had dropped. I asked if I could use part of the refund toward upgrading the CPU to an i7. The rep. told me that was no problem and proceeded to upgrade the order. I sent off the defective computer to the return center.

When the new invoice posted, it was for $178 more than the old system, which caused me some concern. I called HP and a new rep. told me not to worry about it and that it would be adjusted once HP received the return.

Guess what, a $178 charge then appeared on my credit card statement from HP. Another call to HP yielded new information that the first rep. neglected to tell me. Apparently whenever an exchange is upgraded by the purchaser, HP charges the upgrade price over and above any refund that may be due. According to HP, I was being charged $178 for the CPU upgrade (which should've been $75) and would receive a $103 refund "as promised." That nets out to $75 I would have to pay to upgrade the CPU. You can call me paranoid, but I had audio recorded all of my phone calls with HP (my jurisdiction has single party consent on audio recordings). I offered to send them the audio file of what I was promised and evidence that information was never disclosed to me. HP never took me up on my offer but said they would listen to their own recordings.

90 minutes and two phone calls later, I finally was able to speak with a "manager" who, after a lot of effort, was able to grasp the situation. I was never told that my upgrade request would cost me money and I never gave authorization to HP to charge my card. Needless to say HP refunded me the $178.

The new system arrived and does not appear to have the video issues I described in my very first post.

HP has lost me as a customer. I don't believe their sales, service or manufacturing efforts are worth my money or time.

 

I've searched but haven't found much definitive about this aspect of the build quality on the dm4. My unit appears to have some flex in the metal and the keyboard above the optical drive. It's noticeable if I hold down an arrow key slightly harder than normal, for instance, or if I even gently touch the metal on the on the edge of the case (you can see it bend a little bit into the gap between the metal and the door of the drive). I have the fingerprint reader in the same general location as well, if that makes a difference in the construction.

Does anyone else notice this with their dm4 as well, and is it enough of a problem that merits having HP fix it (or just returning it to Costco and trying something else)?

Edit: Well, it looks like my decision to return this particular unit has been made for me. While researching another problem that has come up occasionally from day one (occasional second-long freezes and lockups of the audio that make a buzzing noise from whatever's playing), I came upon some generic advice to test the hard disk. It failed HDDScan's SMART test, passed the HP diagnostic (Esc-F2 at boot) SMART test, but failed the accompanying HP Short DST test within about 30 seconds. I'd still be interested in anyone else's experience with the case of the dm4, though, in case one of these still presents a good value proposition when everything works.

 

Hello. Forgive me if I posted this in the wrong area or if this question has been answered a million times. Just got my DM4T laptop the other day and noticed the mirrored lighted hp circle logo on the outside case is sort of scratched over the silver/mirrored part that encases the letters h p - is this see through/clear protection sticker that needs to be removed? I thought it might be a sticker but couldn't get it to lift up and am worried I might have made it worse by digging at it with my finger nail. Thanks. BH

 

The logo is covered in a light powder blue clear plastic. There's supposed to be a small tab in which you can peel it of. I left mine on, cut the tab off. That logo light is bright. I don't know if you can disable that light but looks nice though.

 

I'm trying to install a Kingston V series SSD (128gb) on the DM4 with Windows 7 but it keeps crashing with dump. My DM4 takes a dump! Help.

 

Thanks for the tip. I was able to peel the plastic off using a pin.

Sorry can't help you with your SSD issue.

Can anyone recommend a sleeve for this laptop? I've tried a 14" sleeve with a zipper and it's too tight, then tried a 14" sleeve without a zipper (like an envelope) and it didn't fold over properly, then I tried a 14.1" sleeve with a zipper from Solo and that was too big...argh! There has be a sleeve that properly fits this laptop.

Thanks.

 

Just got my new dm4 yesterday. Specs below:

• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-640M Dual Core Processor (2.8 GHz, 4MB L3 Cache) with Turbo Boost up to 3.46GHz
• 1GB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 6370 Switchable Graphics [HDMI, VGA]
• 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 14.0" diagonal High-Definition HP BrightView LED Display (1366 x 768)
• SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-R/RW with Double Layer Support
• HP TrueVision Webcam and Fingerprint Reader
• Intel Wireless-N Card with Bluetooth

I am really trying to get that optimal combination of power and mobility, but think I may have gone too far to the power side.

Battery
The battery life is steadily improving. Right now, not running the dedicated graphics I am getting 4+hours on the 6 cell battery. It could be better, but 4+ hours is probably sufficient.

Fan/Noise
This is the part that will drive me nuts. Even shutting off the "Fan Always On" in the BIOS, the fan is running pretty much non-stop. The processor is running <10% and its still going. Its not kicked into overdrive, but could get old.

What I am considering is whether or not a downgrade to one of the i5 processors would make a difference in the battery life and the noise.

Does anyone have any experience or advice? Since I am within the 21 days of the order I can do an exchange. Thanks!

 

I still have mine with the i5-450M and HD5470. With the integrated graphics on and the standard 55 watt-hour 6-cell battery, I've gotten between 4 and 5 hours of WiFi web browsing (depending on what I do and how bright the screen is), and about 3 to 3.5 hours of streaming standard-definition Amazon video-on-demand over WiFi. These seem to be in line with the reviews I saw--to improve the battery life, you might have to pay closer attention to power management settings. I couldn't tell you if the i7-640M you have would make a difference.

Despite that BIOS option my fan runs constantly as well, but at least it's less annoying than my grandma's Tecra A8, whose fan alternates between off/silent and obnoxiously loud. The outside of the system stays decently cool as well.

 

Has anyone had problems running the sims 3 or a game like it? everyhing else i put in my drive works, (media cds, etc) the sims cd is good because it loads up in my mothers laptop

 

thinking of getting this laptop for my mom

if i just get integrated graphics, will it output 1080p to an external monitor?

also wondering if i should get the INTEL wireless N or just the basic one? any problems with either?

also is it worth it to upgrade to the high capacity 6 cell? how many more hours does it give u if any?

thanks anyone!

 

Thanks for the input. I actually spent almost 2 hours last night on the phone with HP tech support. They were not all that helpful in resolving the fan issue over the phone, but did believe that the computer should be silent if its not doing much. I am going to be sending it in to them to check out and they are going to try and give me some options (different computer / configuration). I'll post back an update once I have heard from them and hopefully we can have a resolution to the fan always being on.

 

I suspect that the IGP will output 1080p just fine, though you might wish to have somebody else confirm.

I've heard that Intel wireless cards can perform better and have fewer issues working in Linux, but I'm not sure how much it would benefit you on this machine, if at all. I seem to be problem-free in my own usage with whatever came standard.

As for the high-capacity 6-cell, I believe that upgraded battery has a capacity of 62 watt-hours versus 55 watt-hours for the standard 6-cell. Assuming that your power drain during light WiFi web browsing at a reasonable screen brightness is 12 watts, this gives you perhaps an extra 35 minutes.

Since you can customize this to order on their web site as well as buy a pre-configured model, I would consider purchasing HP consumer laptops from Costco if you can. In case something doesn't work out, they have a generous return policy (90 days) and a second-year warranty, though I haven't rigorously compared pricing between them and HP direct.

 

Thanks for the input. I actually spent almost 2 hours last night on the phone with HP tech support. They were not all that helpful in resolving the fan issue over the phone, but did believe that the computer should be silent if its not doing much. I am going to be sending it in to them to check out and they are going to try and give me some options (different computer / configuration). I'll post back an update once I have heard from them and hopefully we can have a resolution to the fan always being on.

 

I have a dm4t on the way and I want to get a dual-band wireless card. Google has led me to some forums where I can request BIOS mods to add a card to the whitelist (though I haven't seen where a dm4t was modded successfully), or even to have the whitelist removed. I'd rather not go that route if at all possible. Has anyone found an accurate list of what models are actually in the "whitelist" for the dm4t? Better yet, has anyone successfully swapped out the original card with an Intel Advanced-N 6200 (purchased from HP, not a retail box version from Intel)?

Thanks,

 

Complete reinstal would be nice.My dm4 was very slow with al those crapware,i burnt recover dvd's and formatt the c partition and volia it is much quicker now.

 

Is the display on this laptop usable for graphics design, or should I forget about it?

 

In one word,no,the viewing angles are were limited,plus the color are not the most natural. my 1810tz acer does have an better screen then this one .

Thats how I think about it...

 

That makes me sad, because first I find out that I can't get in the Envy 14, and not this... Is there another stylish-esque laptop that has a better than average display other than an Apple, or Dell XPS with B+RGLED?

 

apropos of nothing - I installed a $25 glare filter from Nushield on my DM4T-1100 and it has made the display far more pleasant. The darn thing was like a mirror before. When I would watch a movie before, all I saw half the time was myself staring at the screen.

 

There is the Vaio Z, which is certainly above-average in resolution (1600x900 or 1920x1080 in a 13" display) and probably better in other respects as well. Quite expensive, though.

 

Alright, so after checking out my local store, it turns out they don't have the dv6t SE >.<

However, the dm4t is a pretty nice laptop in itself, or so my research tells me. Is there anything I should/shouldn't expect out of the laptop (2.53GHz Core i5-460[?], Integrated Intel HD Graphics, 6GB RAM, 500GB HDD 5400RPM)?

Also, how effective/efficient is manually deleting installed bloatware versus creating a recovery disc and re-installing the OS?

 

It's a decent machine. I think 1366x768 works better at 14" than 15.6", and it'll be more mobile for you. The dm4 is built much like the dv6t SE, I imagine, so it should be built decently if everything's gone right. (Check it out extensively before your return period ends.)

The main thing not to expect with the integrated graphics alone is 3D gaming performance. It'll run SC2 and some older games at low settings, but that's it. A low-end ATI card (currently the 6370) is an option that might allow you to increase details or performance slightly. (An aside: if you play games that use the function keys, there's a BIOS option to invert the default key behavior if you prefer. If you leave them the other way and use the volume controls, get rid of the HP MediaSmart display that comes up, since it knocks you out of fullscreen video or games.)

Once you have the machine, there's a guide somewhere here on how you can handle bloatware and clean installs. The recovery disc set took me six single-layer DVDs. Definitely make those in case something goes wrong.

 

Ah, yes. I'm not expecting to do too much gaming, although some is fine (not really interested in any high-end graphic games at the moment). Aside from that, it'll mainly be for school stuff; it might be a bit overkill for "just" school, but I'm hoping this will get me through my final year(s) of high school and college.

It's a retail laptop, so I really can't customize. I'm picking it up tomorrow, actually. I'm not sure if it comes with a recovery disc set (I'm assuming not), so I'll have to check up on creating some. As for the FN keys, I may or may not revert them. Thanks for the note!

Are there any other settings and gimmicks I might want to check out?

 

recovery set is not included,you need to burn them

and the bios option,i did not knwo about,thanxs for that ill check it

 

Is there really a size difference...??? What is .5 inches between the 2? It looks like the Dv5 is taller in a way!!Well I own a dm4...does anyone else use this laptop for almost everything? I barely actually never go on my desktop comp with a 21" lcd screen!

 

Is anybody else having issues with the Fingerprint Reader? Sometimes, it just registers everything as "failed", even though it has worked perfectly numerous times between now and when I got my precious laptop back on Friday. It could just be that I have some smudged fingers, though :/

Anyway, the Intel HD Graphics is able to load SC2 smoothly, and has everything suggested on Low. I haven't actually tried playing yet, since I used up 2 hours of my guest pass at my friend's house, and I want to wait until I get a mouse before I try some play testing. It's looking good, though.

I am able to stream flash games on highest quality smoothly using ~50-70% of the CPU, and ~30-50% of the RAM (although XSplit is much less taxing than FMLE, so I can run even more stuff). I know flash games aren't too useful of a benchmark, but still >.< I was using Skype and watching 1080p Youtube at the same time (or, I would have, if my terrible internet connection didn't stutter the buffering sometimes. Other than that, perfectly smooth with a good connection).

I'm really loving this thing. It's light, portable, and powerful, even at base specs. Thanks for the support!

EDIT: Alright, I quickly just went on SC2 and tested it out. It ran smoothly at a minimum of 45 FPS, although I didn't test out any major battles (which I might want to do, meh). Pretty good for an integrated Intel card.

EDIT2: Using the Unit Tester map, a 100 vs 100 Marauder battle hovers at ~15 FPS, quickly increasing as the Marauders die. Having 200 idle Marauders had the FPS at ~25, which is pretty good. At medium settings, I could run at ~10 FPS, so I wouldn't recommend medium settings with Intel GMA HD unless you plan on ending games pretty quickly.

 

My HP dm4-1050ea:

i5 430m: 2.27GHz
Integrated graphics
3Gb DDR3 RAM
320Gb Hard Drive

A great laptop in general. I couldn't see the issues people were having with the trackpad, as it worked fine for me. Yes, worked. I got it in September 2010, and two days into owning it, i noticed that the trackpad was loose. Upon calling HP, I found out this was a problem with a batch of them, so I sent it for a repair. I got it back in 6 days, which wasn't bad at all, and I think that the customer service was top notch, apart from having to spend a fairly long phone call with them booking it in for repair.

Up until yesterday, my dm4 was working perfectly, being able to run multiple programs all at once, no problem, dealing with Photoshop, Microsoft Word, Visual Studio, Chrome and iTunes, etc running simultaneously without it even trying hard, sometimes a virtual machine too. The laptop also looks stunning, and worked fine connected to my 22" monitor.
And then, I put it to sleep and it gave up the ghost, 5 months into owning it. Turns out the motherboard has failed, as pressing the power did absolutely nothing- no flashes, beeps, or even the attempt to boot.

It's a real shame, as I know people who own laptops 3-4 years old which haven't encountered a problem like this yet. It has been booked in for repair, as its under warranty, which should take about 10 days. Oh yeah, I found out today that the phone call cost me £10. They said 5p a minute, but this works out to be over 50p a minute. Beware.

Don't be scared off from buying this laptop if you read this, it was a great laptop, and im sure when its repaired it will be again. It is just a complete surprise how it was working perfectly one minute, and the next its dead.

I'll keep you updated!

 

You did not care as you are under warranty. Just think what happens if it fails like that after a day/week/month after warranty period. My HP(Nvida GPU) did two time so. HP did real good for first time as warranty is extended. I don't know about it until I called them. Second time HP don't want to help me. I lived with that laptop for quite a while pressing power button 10 to 100 times to start up. Now I am waiting for my replacement claim approval.

Do not forget extending your warranty before it expires, If it happened once before 6 months, it can happen again.

 

Doe anyone have an popping sound,when the notebook is turned of?,I noticed
it when I connected headphones to my DM4,really anoying,and harmfull for my headphones(sennheiser HD600) .

 

No problems with this,it fits perfectly for me