*HP dv3500t Owners Lounge*

Here's a description of a workaround for linux that i found:
http://somerandomjunk.wordpress.com/2009/02/19/lcd-brightness-control/

 

have you had hard drive issues when dual booting vista and xp?

also can all drivers be installed for everything with xp?
so also the brightness dose not work wonder why? any other keys not work?

cheers!

 

@waterwagen
Sorry for the late reply, I've been rather busy lately, but I tried to check with a plain wallpaper and it doesn't seem to be as bad as your one.

That fix didn't work for me, however most of my Fn+Fx combo keys seem to be mapped in a rather strange way. Fn+F8 or F7 was reported as the forward media button, and some other weirdness (one combo doesn't show up in xev at all :/). I got the brightness keys issue fixed just by installing xbindkeys and setting the appropriate keycodes (as found from xev and xbindkeys) to the the nvclock commands. Now for the rest... although I hope there is a simpler solution to this. *wonders whether his xorg.conf has some incorrect stuff in it*

 

Hi

I just also got a 3550eo and happy about it. The last couple hours have been spend updating vista : ).

But one thing bothers me. I can't access hardware acceleration under the display settings, it is grayed out. Without it, running a x264 video takes about 50% cpu.
Any help with that?

 

Put some from those http://www.nvidia.com/object/notebook_drivers.html
if do not help ask for help here.
Put your mashine fastest mode cliking on battery.

 

i've got dv3518tx and after searching on here...i've downgraded to xp. i did prepared some of the drivers....but completely forgot for the audio. now i can't play any games and most of all....when i formatted to xp, it deleted the mbr drive. now, i'm sitting here pointless. can anyone please direct me to a list of complete drivers in solving this matter? or at least just the sound driver (IDT and UAA microsoft)....

btw, i'm new here....my name is Inoi and am from Jakarta, Indonesia

 

Chokoladenudlen
Notebook Enthusiast

Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Denmark
Posts: 18
Rep Power: 1 Chokoladenudlen is new here but already liked

Default Re: *OFFICIAL: HP DV3500T Owners Lounge*
Windows XP 32 bit drivers for HP Pavilion dv3500 series (dv3550eo at least...)
(Intels homepage for Mobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset Family, WinXP Pro 32 bit drivers)
Intel ICH9M E/M AHCI drivers - slipstream these into a WinXP install CD
Intel Chipset 4 series laptop chipset driver
Intel Matrix Storage Manager - fixes power scheme featues (standby when closing laptop lid etc.) On my 3rd install of XP, advanced power schemes didn't work until I installed the HP Quick Launch Buttons (sp40139.exe).
Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100 AGN
Realtek RTL8168C(P)/8111C(P) PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC
Bluetooth: sp32883.exe did it for me

Vista drivers from the original "swsetup" dir I've found to be working in XP
-Alps Touchpad (swsetup\drivers\touchpad)
-IDT Audio (swsetup\drivers\audio) - contains XP-specific drivers.
-Validity Fingerprint Reader - not the same as the DigitalPersona fingerprint reader software, mind you! But installing this will probably enable you to use some other biometrics software (swsetup\drivers\MISC1)
-ITECIR (IR remote, I believe) (swsetup\drivers\MISC2)
- HDA modem (swsetup\drivers\modem). I believe this is only for sending audio from your modem to your speakers (i.e. irrelevant unless you use the modem).

Main grievances with WinXP at current stage
- Mute button always glows red (but other than that it's working fine!)
- DigitalPersona (fingerprint reader) software doesn't work in XP, I believe that the fingerprint reader itself is recognized ("validity sensor"), so it might work with another piece of software.
- Brightness controls (Fn+F7/F8) don't work. Seemingly a common HP Pavilion problem (dv5t and dv7t also have it). But the good thing is that it's stuck on the highest brightness level and not the lowest. But this is still by far the most annoying thing about running XP on the machine. In Win7 beta it works fine - but when trying to upgrade the drivers from forceware 176.15 to 179.28, the brightness controls also stopped working in Win7. This gives me hope, that they can also be made to function in WinXP - but I have yet to find a proper driver.

## My attempts at solving the brightness issue ##
- BIOS update F.03 til F.12 : No effect.

Mysticmicman was kind enough to send me a link to a HP update tool, that fixed the brightness issue for him in WinXP64bit.
Update: I'm quickly approaching the world record in refomatting, and am currently running WinXP32bit. I tried out the HP file mentioned directly above, but it didn't work...

 

Could someone please comment on noise levels ?
Is the fan working when in "power save" mode, or when browsing, using Word, etc, or is it completely silent ? (i'm very sensitive to this noise in a quiet environment, eg i find the HP 6710b too noisy in idle mode)

I'm trying to choose the most silent one 12-13" out of the DV3500 series, HP 2230s, Toshiba Portege and Toshiba Satellite Pro.

 

The fan is always on. I think it has 3 levels (at least thats what I've observed) and it's almost always running on the lowest level. My opinion is that it is very quiet. My girlfriends DV7 w/ P8400@2,26Ghz and GF 9600GT is almost more audible only when her HD is spinning (she doesn't have the fan set to "always on") compared to mine when both my HD and fan are spinning. But this thing about how audible a laptop are, is very individual.

//R

 

Very quaite

 

Is Bestbuy's 3510nr still good value at $999? In general posters here seem quite happy with the 3500 series.

I like the idea of the backlit keyboard and decent LED screen. I'm hesitating a bit because the Dell Studio XPS 13 is also $999 in Bestbuy with P8600, 7200rpm HD and DDR 3 RAM. Heard it has heat issues though and the screen is CCFL.

Dv3510nr owners, do you think the screen and heat levels are decent enough to settle for slightly lower specs?

Thanks.

 

I don't like the idea that the fan always runs. Has anyone managed to use a fan control app to stop it when the CPU isn't under load?

 

Fan is pritty quaite no neseccary to switch it off. from bios its imposible

 

can be disabled in bios. this will make it auto

 

yepp but DV3500 do not turn it off only manage rotation speed

 

hi guys, just in case anybody who already bought a model without a back-lit keyboard, they are back in stock on pchub... its american configuration, but probably worth the hassle. I found it amazingly frustrating in most light conditions without backlightling...

check it out... http://www.pchub.co.uk/uph/laptop/66-40679-10850/HP-Pavilion-dv3500-Series--Keyboard.html

 

For those with the dv3510nr model, can anyone upload the drive MBR? The F11 Recovery partition is not working.
A copy of the Vista BCD would be great, also.

PS. Can use HDHacker, EasyBCD to get them

 

Suppouse it wil not work as you want because Product key is unical I think so, in every instalation and if you make Recovery system do not ask you to put it any were as in instalation from a DVD. So my advise to take a clean DVD copy instal VISTA and put drivers and soft from HP home page.

 

Is there any way to disable the leds under the display?

 

seems no

 

The Dell is actually $900...
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9150624&type=product&id=1218036666917

As far as the DV3 is concerned, with student discount, you can get the DV3Z for $987 with the 2.0ghz QL-62, 80gb Intel SSD, 4gb, agn+bt, backlight, led... and all the rest.... which IMO trounces the dv3500T since this has the intel SSD.... then again, I am still debating which one to get myself.... the S-XPS 13, DV3Z/T, or the DV4T... but man, getting a laptop with an intel SSD is tempting, can boost the 2.0ghz to a 2.3ghz turion ultra for $1,087, but the ql-62 has a TDP of only 25watts, so me thinks it should be good on the temp front, and it should provide more than adequate performance anyway..... but am trying to figure out the heat issues myself atm tho....

 

The hard drive MBR is not related to the product key. Besides, HP (and other Tier 1 OEMs) use a single product key image for all of its computers, so I don't think it would matter.

I need the drive MBR to re-enable the Recovery partition (still intact) F11 function, and the Vista BCD as Startup Repair is not working.

To prevent problems, I think it's necessary to get the information from the dv3510nr model only.

Also needed: BCD store. Export it from bcdedit.exe /export

Usage:bcdedit /export filename
Parameters
filename
The name of the file that is to contain the exported store. If filename contains spaces, it must be enclosed in quotation marks (""):
• If you specify just the file name, BCDEdit creates the file in the current default folder.
• To have the file placed in a specific folder, set filename to the fully-qualified path. The path must end in a valid file name, such as c:\temp\mystore. If the path ends in the name of a folder (such as c:\temp) or the name of an existing file, the command fails.
• You can use valid environment variables in the path. For example, if %TEMP% is defined as c:\Temp, setting filename to %TEMP%\MyStore creates an exported store named MyStore in c:\Temp.
Example
The following command exports the system store to C:\Data\BCD Backup:
bcdedit /export "C:\Data\BCD Backup"

 

Here is the MBR that I backed up before I installed Ubuntu, which installed GRUB and modifies the MBR. Hopefully one of the MBRs will work for you.

I found that the MBR actually changed during the first boot from how the drive was shipped from the factory. It expanded the Vista partition to a larger size. It was like Vista wasn't fully installed from the factory, and the first boot finished the installation and expanded the Vista partition. I provided both the "before" and "after" versions of the MBR.

I hope it's useful, but use at your own risk.

I can't help with the BCD stuff as my Vista is long gone.

 

Thanks for the upload. It fixed the recovery partition issue.

 

Is there a guide on how to restore to hard drive to factory defaults (with a working recovery partition etc.)? Thinking about installing Linux, but want to be able to restore everything in the future. Thanks.

 

If you make a recovery CD before you mess with Linux then that should let you restore the drive to its factory condition at any time in the future.

 

Hey guys. I think I'm close to pulling the trigger on one of these. Here in the US the only dv3500 available is the BestBuy 3510nr, otherwise you have to customize one on HP's site.

It seems the major differences between the two are the processor and the video card. How does the BestBuy model with Centrino P7350 compare to the HP.com dv3t upgraded to a AMD ZM-86 processor?

How bad is the ATI Radeon HD 3200 that comes with the dv3t? Is it upgradable after purchase?

 

I would recommend the dv3510nr over the newer but in my opinion not quite as hardware attractive dv3610 (thats what is't called in Sweden) with AMD + ATI components. The processor ZM-86 has a higher power consumption (TDP 35watt compared to the P7350 which have a TDP of 25watt) but they have very similar performance according to http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html

The graphics in these two computers are not made for gaming but can handle lower settings as long as the game not are as demanding as Crysis or GTA IV. Teh ATI HD3200 get's about 1500 points in 3DMark 2006 and the Nvidia 9300GS 1900 points.

I can't tell you anything about the battery stamina in the dv3610 but i'm able to squeeze out 4 hours whit my dv3550eo which i'm very pleased with =)

//R

 

AGREE

 

If I can get a dv3500 for around $880 US would that be a good deal?

specs would be.

Intel Centrino 2 Processor Technology featuring Intel Core 2 Duo Processor P7350
13.3” WXGA High-Definition HP LED BrightView Widescreen
320GB ULTRA SATA DUAL Hard Drive
4GB Memory+ Backlit Keyboard
Build in Web Camera +Bluetooth+FingerScan!
nVIDIA 9300GS (512MB DEDICATED)
Super Multi 8x DVD+RW -Write DVD and CD
5 in 1 Media Card Reader - Reads most of Memory Cards

Wireless Internet with WIFI A/G/N BLUETOOTH Card

Microsoft® Windows® Vista Home Premium 64bit

 

also does anyone know if this will run left 4 dead at a decent framerate at native resolution?

 

what backpacks do u guys use with this notebook and what mices ? I just got dv3 for my gf with amd cpu and she wants some nice backpack

 

Its a good price

 

Greetings all. Just a couple of questions, and sorry if this has been covered:

- Is the hinge on the dv3 as fragile as it seems? has anyone had the misfortune of actually cracking it?

-I've got offers in local stores (can't buy abroad because need a french keyboard) and can't decide between the dv3525ef (at 750€, with the usual P7350 processor - http://www.pixmania.com/fr/fr/2694346/art/hp/pc-portable-hp-pavilion-d.html)

or the latest model, the dv3650ef (at 900€ with the T6400 processor and additional RAM http://www.pixmania.com/fr/fr/2230842/art/hp/pavilion-dv3650ef.html). Apart from these two aspects they are pretty much the same machine (the 3650 actually has less HD space).

DO you guys think its really worth an extra 150€ for the processor/RAM upgrade? Or should i buy it and then buy new parts?

And... sigh... i wish they had more colours... Curse this unisex, one-size-fits all bullcrap... The dell xps 1330 is about the same price, has nicer colours, but it doesn't have eSATA or as good a graphic card.

I still can't decide...

thanks in advance for any advice.

 

Take cheapest processor its better
this time cheaper is better

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html
52 Intel Core 2 Duo P7350 Penryn 1066 3072 2000 25 45 2 X
61 Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 Penryn 800 2048 2000 45 2 X

P7350 have 3Mb cache and Fsb 1066 its faster and only 25wats more economical to batarey
Ram van be expanded by yourself


Look about Dell here
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Dell-XPS-M1330-Notebook.6696.0.html

 

Wow, thanks for the quick answer. Sadly the 750 offer just vanished... Now 839€ is the best i got. You heard any horror stories about the hinge cracking? i can't afford extended warranty and I'm dreading what could happen two years down the line. The dell looks a lot more solid but i hear you could almost cook an egg on it, even in idle mode.

 

Dont think so using laptop about 6 months it has very thin and lite cover couse LCD is on LED and no hunge cracking they are very solid, any way lap top is not a thing to kik something thith it you shoud use it carefully. Dell is not bad my sister using 1330 plastic feels beter but really hot n screen not so good also video n price

 

Hi. I've had my DV3507EA for a few months now. Very happy with it but I have a question about the RAM. My machine has 3GB and I was wondering what the maximum is. I think someone on this thread said 8 however I've also heard that it's 4. And ideas?

 

I have 4Gigs dont now maybe it support 2 modules by 4gb = 8Gb

 

I think one of the differents between the dv3500 and the dv3600 was that the later one did support 8gb of ram while the dv3500 only supported 4gb. I think the new DV3T does support 2 x 4 gb ram. Check on hp.com to be sure!

//R

 

I use my Nike backpack and a Built NY sleeve for my laptop. IMO, Built NY makes the very best sleeves, not only are they fashionable, but they actually provide a level of protection for the laptop. That way you can drop it in any bag or backpack you want...

 

I'm using a 3550 and according to HP System Information under Hardware > Memory (RAM) it says Max Capacity (GB) : 8

The system board is Inventec, ID 1505, KBC Version 13.10. If someone with a 3600 post their specs this might confirm same mb on the machines.

Notice, if it annoys you that Ctrl + Shift + S opens this menu, then find the icon in the start menu, right click -> Properties -> Shortcut and remove the shortcut.

 

True. It's the same on mine. I was just saying what the spec for my dv3550eo told me when i bought it. Obviously it was wrong =)

//R

 

some information and questions about bluetooth and backlit

Bought the dv3650es model in Spain with vista 64bit and, after unpacking the notebook, I immediately installed Windows 7 RC 64bit over it. The good thing is that everything works superb, I used the vista drivers to install and all works great, except for bluetooth which is not recognized (i should have investigated before with vista on it)

I chatted with the HP support and they informed that bluetooth is included. HP support recommended me to install the SP42617 driver, but bluetooth is still not recognized, so I wonder if there is somebody else with a 3650 model who could confirm that bluetooth is included or not. If there is no bluetooth, is it possible to buy the bluetooth card at pchub.com and install it?

By the way, I checked that it is possible to install 8gb memory (replacing the 2x2gb modules by 2x4gb, e.g. the Crucial CT2KIT51264AC800 8GB (4GBx2) 200-pin SODIMM DDR2 PC2-6400 Memory Module at amazon should work, but it is still expensive, 369$)

As far as the backlit concerns, this model has no backlit. I am doubting whether to buy the US backlit keyboard and change it with some spanish keys or wait until a spanish backlit keyboard comes onto the market. After installing the backlit, is it possible to use fn+spacebar to activate it or not? I have the impression from previous posts that the backlit must always be on, which i dont like

Tx a lot in advance for help, cheers

 

Dont know about BT but if in complectation it was mentioned and shown in device manager near the network devices it should be were. Instal Vista again from HDD restore partition it takes less than one hour and chech if it works or not. I not recomend use WIN7 as primary system for work only testing purpouse. Personally me install all OS in VIRTUAL BOX very easy and works well and could be removed any moment, functionality almoust 95% from instaled separately.


"After installing the backlit, is it possible to use fn+spacebar to activate it or not? I have the impression from previous posts that the backlit must always be on, which i dont like"
Yes you can turn it off and on. Wrong impression

 

Hello fellow gurus,

In portugal I can buy the following models:

http://h20195.www2.hp.com/PDF/c01629090.pdf -> dv3650ep

or the

http://dl.getdropbox.com/u/2810/hp_dv3_2050ep.pdf -> dv3 2050ep

Now, my questions, which one should I choose?

a) dv3650ep has a smaller weight
b) 9300M GS and G105M are pratically the same, though benchmarks top the G105M
c) the dv3650ep has a better CPU (P8600)

Now, my gut tells me I'm better off with a dv3650ep (lighter, better cpu) but the dv3-2050ep is in fact more recent. Is there any reason to pick one for the other?

Also, do any of these laptops suport that hybrid GPU thingy (2 graphic cards, dedicated and integrated, alternating). And how do they versus battery-wise?

Thank you in advance for all (i expect) great answers

 

Video 105M is a litle bit better think what you cant feel it at all any way bouth chips not for hi end an hifi gaming only old games or some new thith low resolution. For everiday PC using no diference 9300 or 105.
CPU me personnally prefer much power chips cause this will affect perfomanse. its almoust 300Mhz faster. Take the fastest CPU

31 Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 Penryn 1066 3072 2400 25 45
43 Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 Penryn 1066 3072 2130 25 45
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html


96 NVIDIA GeForce G 105M NB10P 8 640 1600 700 64
104 NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS NB9M 8 550 1400 700 64
more info here
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

 

Hello, I am the proud owner of a DV3650 with 'faulty' keyboard. I intend to replace it with a backlit US model, although I do have a question: after you install the keyboard, does the FN+SPACE shortcut work to turn the backlight on/off?

Thanks

 

yes it works on harware level.

 

Thank you. I'll order it as soon pchub replenishes its stock.