*HP dv4t (1XXX series) Owners Lounge*

Thanks MrPresident, I was wondering how to change it generally.

I wonder though, since this laptop has a 9200GS card, is it best just to keep the fan always on and put up with the noise?

It wasn't actually that loud last night when I had the back proped up on some DVD covers. Before I loaded it up with a CD in the drive, that seems to make it terribly loud in general.

 

thats funny because the biglots deal was for 1028's with p 7350 processors. mine came from biglots and thats what processor it has as well as the other biglot 1028's.

does any one know where i can find motherboard specs for the Compal 30F7 in a 1028us?

 

has anyone played Left 4 Dead on the DV4T with the Geforce 9200M GS?

 

Hi,

I am getting a dv4t soon and have a question regarding processors. As speed isn't an issue 2.0ghz is fine.

With the three options, the
Pentium(R) Dual-Core Mobile Processor T3200 (2.0GHz) or
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor T5800 (2.0GHz) or
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P7350 (2.0GHz)

is the any significant difference in heat/power consumption?

If one of them gave me extra battery life, or reduced heat, I would pick it over the others.
Cheers,

 

The 'P' series processors are the newer ones over the 'T' processors. The P series uses 25Watts compared to the T series using 35watts, thus the P series gives better battery life and less heat.

 

How did you get it for this price?

 

Yeah, the box that my dv4 came in actually states that it's a P7350 processor but both CPU-Z and my device manager confirm that it is indeed a P8400 processor. Several people have reported getting the P8400 instead of the P7350 from that Big Lots deal.

I don't think your 9200GS would get so hot that the fan needs to constantly be on. You risk busting your fan by having it constantly on. I think the best thing is to just keep your notebook either propped up on something to ensure adequate airflow or just get a cooler.

Big Lots had a special deal and I priced matched it at Circuit City.

 

what are the specs of the 8400?

 

Here's a CPU-Z screen shot for you.

 

i noticed that the dv4 runs hot especially the hard drive. By removing the sd slot cover I was able to drop the hard drive temp by about 10 deg C. Having said that the hard drive will sit at 45 deg C usually, which i'm told is ok. Except that my brothers Toshiba hard drive sits at 25 deg C. IMHO Its no secret why: the toshiba has a big vent on the side, the HP is at the back and underside. i can feel more and cooler airflow on the toshiba. Also the underside of the Toshiba is full of holes to improve heat transfer out of the case. the Toshiba hardly ever uses its fan. I checked temp by touch on about 30 laptops on display at a retailer: the Hp's were always the hottest. I had a Hp 2133 but reports of numerous motherboard failures, "heat-fixes" scared me and i sold it. And yeah it got hot with very small vents. only to buy the dv4 without researching the heat issue: hell i thought HP wouldn't screw it up again. HP NEVER again.

 

Did you have a Big Lots flyer? or did you price match it from online?

I did not get the P8200 processor, I wish I did.

When I am doing a clean re-install using a vista CD, did you get Cyberlink PowerDirector installed properly? Mine gives an error every time I install it.

 

Chill.. its ok, I had the same disappointment, but got a very nice idea, and it helped me about 5 deg. I opened the hdd bay and removed the black sticker which was on the hdd metal holder, it may be risky of dust getting in the hdd but i am planing on buying a ssd to stop the sweat on my hand
Best temps on hdd i got buy raising the front 1cm and the back 2 cm, more on the back will get your gpu cooler but hdd hotter, the design flaw are the bracket openings they are horizontal, they should be vertical, so now if you raised the laptop more the heat will build up in the upper part of the hdd enclosure which doesn't have openings.

 

Well, the Big Lots deal came and went twice. I missed it the first time, and the second time it came around it was Deal of the Day at Big Lots so you only had one day to buy it. I'm lucky because my brother works at Circuit City so I got it done at his store but without that, they wouldn't have price matched it for me because the stores no longer carried it in stock (they had to direct ship it to me). Also, they wouldn't price match Day of the Deal type of deals, it has to be a legitimate ad.

And yeah I actually had the same Cyberlink problems. After getting an error message, I rebooted and tried installing it again and it worked fine.

 

Did anybody find the solution for this problem? I have also noted that the fan goes louder after doing restart instead of shut down. That's really annoying.

 

Someone suggested drilling holes in the case on the underside, and i reckon judging by what toshiba does on the notebooks that this is reasonable and would probably work to reduce heat. I also have the front two inches of the notebook dangle over the edge of my table. fair enough, but what p.'s me off is why do we HAVE to do this crap in the first place? I just spent $1450 Aus on the thing? HP's frickin engineers should've worked this out, or otherwise they should be shot ( its NOT just an isolated model thing, all the notebooks made by HP that i felt, about 10 of em, ran hotter than anyone else's.)

Just played one of the RPG demo games and the GPU hit 70 deg C. Is this OK for a GPU?

 

i think you guys are crazy, i have all sorts of vents on the cover for the hard drive

and 70C is fine for the GPU

 

Yeah drilling holes of any kind does not sound like a good idea at all. Might void your warranty too.

 

i got 80 playing cs source, so its ok
today i removed the wd hdd to see what the heat source is, installed ubuntu on 8gb usb, and booted from it, after 3 hours without the drive the heat on the left side of the pad and the pad it self was pretty much the same and bottom was cold. So that's it there is nothing wrong whit our hard drives.
Does any one know what should be there just under the mouse pad, that heats our hard drives?

 

Can you tell me what is this?
I think it's the main source for the high hdd temps

 

my built in card reader on my dv4-1114nr bestbuy is not working. Is anyone else having problems with this???

 

Ha ha...

Now, you guys are having the same problems that I have had for months...
If you go back to the first 10~30 pages of this thread (I'm not sure how many pages exactly), you will find me.

About the hard drive...
No solution.... If you are lucky, you get a cool dv4t with a cool hard drive.
If you are not lucky, you get a hot dv4t with a hot hard drive. You just have to get used to it, unfortunately, like me. I bought a notebook cooler to cool down the hard drive temperature. It's not clear whether the hard drive just gets hot itself or some other part gets hot and sends its heat to the hard drive.

about the fan...
No solution until HP releases a new version of the BIOS that fixes the issue.
HP has released about 3~4 BIOS versions for the dv4t, and none of them fixed the issue. I don't know who developed the BIOS, but maybe they just don't use the sleep mode;;;;;
I tried to report the issue to HP, but there was no way to do so...

I like HP printers, but I will never buy their laptops (maybe except business notebooks).

 

Same here. All their laptops run hot even their 2133 mininote which has a high motherboard failure rate and gets ed hot.

Next time its Toshiba for me all the way

 

Cool intro vid to the HP dv4

 

hey guys! on my dv4t now. luckily it turned on hehe.

I did notice that the top left f keys are not the most sturdy, anyone else notice this?

Also, I ordered the LED backlit display but am in a panic that they didn't send it to me, how can I verify? I have no idea how to properly use VISTA so I can't even figure out what HDD I have. Under device manager I have just the generic display for my monitor..

 

Congratulations!
You worry too much...

It is highly unlikely that HP makes such a mistake.
But, here's what you can do.

Download and install a program called Everest.
Then, check Display - Monitor. Look at the "manufacturer". That is the part number of your screen.
Mine is LP141WX5-TLB1. If you google that, you'll find that it is a 14.1" TFT LCD Panel for Notebook PC with White LED Back Light from LG. Your screen might be a different model.

There could be another way to find that out, but I don't know any other way than using Everest right now.

 

thanks man, that's the screen I have

also found I have a toshiba hdd, merry christmas !

 

That's the southbridge I/O controller hub (ICH9M). I did a similar thing with the hard drive
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=306061&page=2
and also don't think it's the hard drive causing the issue although it probably contributes to an already warm / hot area.

FWIW the same 2.5" HD runs about 10C cooler in an external housing.

Thanks for the pics hawkshark, I have the CQ45 which I think uses the same system board as the DV4, and your picture just about confirms that except maybe for the optical drive connector. The CQ45 Compal board No. is JAL50.

As for the fan, if I set the BIOS to fan always on the temps seem to be fairly constant whereas if I don't then the temps heat cycle especially the GPU as the fan seems to be controlled only via the CPU temperature.

I don't have any fan trouble coming out of sleep mode, the only time the fan sounds loud is for 2 seconds when the notebook is first switched on or during a BIOS flash.

 

you wouldnt happen to know where the specs for the LP141WX3-TLP2 pannel are do you?

 

My dv4 has just started to shut itself down. later when I power up, vista tells me it shut down because of low battery power. Problem is I was running off AC power. When i eventually boot, the battery is 3% full, plugged in to AC and charging, except it never charges beyond 3 %. Any help would be appreciated.

 

unplug the battery, disconnect charge
you then hold the power on button for 5 seconds, plug in the battery
if the battery is not defected, you then should be fine.

same methold works on quick button errors

 

does anyone know how to disassemble the keyboard? unfortunately the hp service videos for the DV4 are not updated, and the DV5 is set up differently. I was not able to pry the keyboard up and was not sure how much force to use, didn't want to break it!

 

yes it did work. thank you very much. does this mean i have a defective battery anyway?

 

anyone using XP on their dv 4's?

 

You are welcome.
The battery is not defective. I think the reason for laptop not getting a correct information of charging time is HP's Power Controller.

 

I had an HP DV2000 for a little over a year and kept having overheating issues. HP attempted to fix the overheating twice and just ended up ruining my computer... In return though, they built me a new HP DV4t and I just got it today. I love it! Here are it's specs.

Windows Vista Home Premium with Service Pack 1 (32-bit)
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo Processor P7350 (2.0GHz)
4.1" diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Infinity Display (1280 x 800)
3GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS
320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
HP Color Matching Keyboard
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetoothedit
Integrated 56K Modem
LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD+/-RW with Double Layer Support
HP Integrated HDTV Hybrid Tuner
12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

 

The issue is not directly related solely to HP alone, however HP does take the cake due to the decision to use NVidia imbedded chipsets.

ALL machines over the past 2yrs running GeForce 6150's up that use shared RAM (system's DDR2) will have the same overheat issues where the laptops display will no longer display anything - even through S-Video. I've already sent in my DV2404ca for repairs - and I'll bet only the mobo was replaced. The vent still had that thermal paste smell.

Anyone don't believe me ... check press release this past summer from NVidia having faulty video cards, and recent 2wks of them URGING partners to upgrade to new video chipsets. Add to that check on their site for various models having an Extended Warranty (even IF your standard Warranty of 1yr is already gone). They repaired my dv2404ca for free 8mths after original warranty.

I love HP.

I suggest getting a quality ATi chipset.

 

I got my DV4 from PC World UK for £500 which I consider a bargain, seeing as it goes for like, $2000+ in New Zealand. It really is a great computer for the price, although the fan coming on all the time is annoying. But I'm really happy with it. The specs are

 

Hello.. Im just wondering .. My Recovery Drive D is full with 10.9 GB and it has free about 1.5 GB ... Is this normal? Is this spyware? I have Spybot, and Anti Virus with other several programs..

Can anyone inform me? I have had the notebook maybe for about 4 or 5 months more or less...

Any feedback would be appreciated.. Since when I click on the D drive I find nothing but is it maybe because my C drive is growing and its saving my info?

Again I have searched , nothing has come up .. ANY help or POINT to the right direction will be APPRECIATED thanks..

Have a good day ...

 

Hi

Got my dv4-1080 today and it is fantastic. But I have a small issue, I'm trying to find if there is a way to disable the visual effect that is displayed when i use my quicktouch buttons to, for example change volume. Is there a way?

 

My question is actually the opposite: I don't get any OSD visual effect upon quick button/play press.

Also, the lights on the quick button strip are very bright imho, anyway to turn its lights off?

TIA

 

The best way I think for the volume is to download the MIcrosoft keyboard driver for "Multimedia Keyboard" - it shows a nice small green volume bar in the lower right corner when you use it.

I have another question though -- how can I make it so hitting play will bring up Winamp? My old DV2000 serires laptop works that way -- wondering how to get it on this DV4 now. Thanks.

 

dv4t owners, i got a Question
"HP Color Matching Keyboard "
on the dv4t is this mean that
the dv4t keyboard is it backlid keyboard ??

 

No. That means the color of the keyboard matches the color of the part of the notebook around the keyboard. In other words, the keyboard is glossy silver, which you won't like much.

I suggest anyone who is planning to buy the dv4t and reading my comment to actually see and experience the dv4t in any local electronics store like Best Buy before buying it online or somewhere.

Although the design (color and material used) looks really nice, it also has problems.

 

Hi,

Am interested in buying this series laptop.
The one available in India is with old processor;

HP dv4-1131TX Price: USD 1075
OS: Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium 32-bit
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T5800
• 2.0 GHz, 2 MB L2 Cache, 800 MHz FSB
Chipset: Intel GM 45 Express
RAM: 3GB DDR2 [800MHz], Expandable to 8GB
HDD: 250GB (Serial ATA, 5400 rpm)
Display: 14.1” WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display
Graphics Accelerator: NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS, 512MB
Wireless LAN Type: 802.11b/g WLAN
ODD: LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD±RW with Double Layer Support
External I/O ports: 3 USB 2.0 (3rd shared with eSATA port), 1 HDMI, 1 eSATA Combo, 1 VGA port, 1 RJ-11, 1 RJ45, Expansion Port 3, 2 Headphone out, 1 Microphone in, Consumer IR, AC Adapter, Fingerprint Sensor x1


Am travelling to Dubai & have found the following model;

HP dv4-1225ee Price: USD 1070
OS: Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium 32-bit
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor P7450
• 2 GHz , Level 2 cache 3 MB
RAM: 3GB DDR2 [800MHz], Expandable to 8GB
HDD: 320 GB (Serial ATA, 5400 rpm)
Display: 14.1" WXGA High-Definition AG with BrightView Infinity Display
Graphics Accelerator: NVIDIA GeForce 9200M GS, 512MB
Wireless technologies: Intel® WiFi Link 5100
ODD: LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD±RW with Double Layer Support
External I/O ports: 3 USB 2.0, 1 HDMI connector, 1 eSata connector, 1 VGA port, 1 RJ45 ethernet connector, 1 RJ11 modem connector, 2 headphones-out, 1 mic-in, remote control infrared port , cable docking connector, Fingerprint Sensor x1
Warranty: 1 year, carry in, parts and labour


But my only concern is the Warranty Factor.
Can anybody help; Whether I will be able to avail the full warranty in India or not?

 

why dell delete the nice feature such as backlid keyboard... so sad to hear that...

but do hp give out a international warranty on this product?? like asus did

 

hey i just happened to notice that a new bios sneaked out a month ago, i just thought i would share because it claims to have fixed the problem with the quick launch buttons not working some times.

its version F24, it an other versions are here:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...&dlc=en&cc=us&product=3762550&os=2100&lang=en

edit:
installing it the installer said something about the effective date being january 13th 2009 so mabe the final bulid was 12 2009 and it didnt show up till later, i donno the laptop just shut off so its done and......

everything seems the same except the ability to turn C1 on and off is gone. seems a little quicker to start and only time will tell if it fixes the buttons

 

Sleep to wake fan noise or similar
Come on People! Give some feedback:
At the bottom of drivers/bios on hp web site on yours particular model write some feedback on your problem, especially about fan noise.
We must do this soon, the model is getting older by the day, and soon there will be no bios update at all, 3 (f14, f22, f24) updates buy now didn't fix this "small" problem.

 

The mute button does not work on my quick launch bar. My hard drive gets pretty hot too. I think I am getting SUCKIE battery life with my 12 cell battery though. If I plug it out for 15 minutes, my battery life is already down to 89%, and I dont use the battery that much.
I did a clean install on mine, and formatted the drive to get the maximum space. I also spent a lot of time cusomizing all the power settings. Vista has quite a bit.

 

I hate hp
"Thank you for writing back to us.

I can understand your concern.

Ognen, at this point of time I would like to inform you that, HP had identified that there is no issues with the BIOS and BIOS updates and also I would like to know whether the issue has been resolved or not.

I request you to Please get back with the observation and result regarding the issue then we will be happy to assist you further."

 

just installed the f.24 bios and I noticed my left palm area ie the hard drive and wifi card zone is notciable cooler. I have a toshiba hd.