*HP dv7t Quad Edition (3XXX series) Owners Lounge*

I haven't tried booting from battery and then plugging in the A/C adapter yet. But, when I unplug the A/C power, it automatically dims according to my custom standards in "power plan". Then when I plug it back in, it turns up the brightness automatically. Is that what you were asking?

 

Just FYI guys, I had to install a patch on my system from HP because I was not able to change the desktop background picture positioning. I tried to make a picture fit to the screen and would save the settings but nothing would happen. I will try to find the link again for the fix. Just letting you know that there is an HP patch out there.

 

Does anyone have any good recommendations for a bluetooth mouse. Should I go bluetooth? It would be nice to not have a usb adapter in my lappy all the time.

I am also looking for a new external hard drive. I need at least 500GB. Any suggestions?

 

check out the ads at your local electronics store this sunday, for the upcoming black friday ads. From what Ive found so far, Office Depot has the cheapest price: $99.99 for a 1.5TB external hard drive.


Also, for anyone who has questions about this laptop, feel free to ask. I just got mine a few days ago, and so far I've played borderlands on medium settings and the framerate was VERY smooth. (must be 30+ FPS cause those graphics were freakin amazing...)

Anyways, here's the specs of my laptop:
Infiniti Brightview display (very reflective but a high quality picture)
1.6 GHz quad-core (duh)
4 GB Ram
GT230m graphics card, (I love it)
built-in TV tuner (loving that as well)

Everything else is pretty much stock.

This is one of the fastest computers I've ever used, and hands down the fastest laptop I've ever used.

The 'subwoofer' delivers rich, deep basses, in an almost surprising manner.
(you don't expect to hear that deep of bass from something this small)

Also, even though it's considered a desktop replacement, this laptop is fairly agile. I have no problem carrying it around in school and/or moving it around the house.
This computer is my new love.

 

I had the HP and Microsoft Bluetooth mice.

HP Mouse: simple just a basic mouse with a scroll wheel and a left and right click. Pretty good tracking and comfortable.

Microsoft Mouse: similar but also includes a back button (the back button was the reason I switched to this mouse). My problem with this mouse was that it had a battery save mode so the mouse would go to sleep after a certain period of inactivity. It wasn't that big of a problem but it got annoying after a while.

I kept trying to find a bluetooth with a back button but the only ones I could find like that had the USB receiver with it. So I got the Logitech Anywhere Mouse VX and it's been really good so far. Tracking with this thing is awesome and it'll track just about anywhere (according to Logitech it tracks on glass and mirrored surfaces but I haven't tried this). I believe all the buttons are customizable (I've only customized a couple of the buttons).

For external hard drives, I've been mostly using internal HDs with an external enclosure just because I had them lying around from some swaps I did. Works pretty good and it's powered by 1 USB port. No need for an external power source or secondary USB port. I got the Western Digital My Passport Essential external HD for my dad as a father's day gift. Works as expected and it's also powered by 1 USB port.

 

Yeah mine does that too, what I am talking about is when you start off on battery, then plug into the ac adapter it won't make the screen the brightest it can go, you have to go into power options and change it yourself.

 

Yep Yep, OCZ drives are nice but I had a problem knowing there was a better option, even if it "Wasn't" gonna have trim, that doubled the performance even heavily fragmented. Samsung Drives are hilariously bad when they get fragmented, they are a waste of time. The only thing that makes them better than the stuttering crap that is jmicron is that they...dont stutter. They just have really really low 4k random writes.

 

I havent had the problem, although I always switch between high performance and power saver (screw hp recommended, ive always had good luck with the windows defaults).

The only other thing I do different is I NEVER touch the windows brightness sliders. Keep them at max for all 4 states: power saver+battery, power saver+AC, high performance+bat and High+AC. Then just use the keyboard shortcut. Why go into a menu when it's on the keyboard?

BTW in case it's not clear, I have not had any brightness changing when it shouldnt have depending on AC or Battery,whenever I rarely want the brightness different I just use a keyboard shortcut.

 

As additional information, the only drives that can be powered by one usb port (they usually need two ports!) are the 2.5 inch enclosures. 3.5 always need a power source. Also, it would be best to invest in a second internal hard drive with a laptop like this that actually HAS the option, and the capacities can go as high as 640 or 750gb nowadays I believe.

Also, I'd suggest that if you like using bluetooth mice, and that one works great aside from the sleep mode, dont even bother looking for another alternative. Bluetooth mice are uncannily bad at making a solid connection through bluetooth, it's one of the reasons why you dont see a lot of them and yet see a whole crapload that have a nano reciever. On the other hand, if you can deal with a nano reciever, logitech's new darkfield mice are probably the best wireless options out there, not only is the performance darkfield using an extremely beloved design (for righties, im a righty though and I didnt prefer it as much as everyone else on the internet) but with the darkfield technology it can be used on glass which is pretty cool. BTW i'm not even sure it's called darkfield so dont quote me on that.

 

see above for some answers

 

mw2 is awesome. If you've ever played keyboard and mouse shooters you would LOVE MW2 on the PC though. If you wanted to get it, feel free to add me as a steam friend just ask me when the time comes.

Plus, Left 4 Dead 2 is utterly amazing and so is borderlands though on a completely different level. I'd suggest getting all these games on your shiny new gaming pc because they run beautifully.

 

Yeah, I'm using 2.5 inch enclosures and I did read that it required two ports but mine work perfectly connected to only one port.

The Logitech Anywhere is Darkfield and it really is nice. I've tracked on desks, plastic table covers, and cloth without any problems. The receiver is tiny and, on this model, allows you to connect other devices like a keyboard on the same receiver.

 

My new dv7t quad edition

• Espresso Black
• Genuine Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
• Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB)
• 50% OFF! 8GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
• 500GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
• 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 230M
• 17.3" diagonal HD+ High-Definition HP LED BrightView Infinity Widescreen Display (1600 x 900)
• Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
• [For BrightView Infinity Display] Webcam + Fingerprint Reader
• Intel Wireless-N Mini-card with Bluetooth
• No TV Tuner w/remote control
• HP Color Matching Keyboard
• 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
• Mobile Stereo Earbud Headphones (1 pair)
• Integrated 56K Modem
• Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
• HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope

First, I am still not sure because i cant see an option for Back lit keyboard which i really want!!! What you guys think...Has any one upgraded his keyboard on his own from matching to backlit keyboard. I mean is there a solution or should i return it and wait for when hp is going to introduce the backlit keyboard for dv7t !!!!

2nd, i am going to use it for virtualization.... what you guys think!

Coming in 1 to 2 weeks.
__________________________________________________________________________________

espresso black or moonlight finish? which one you prefer and why?
Your thought would be a great help deciding which one should i get!!!

Espresso black
More visible finger prints
More Reflection than moonlight.


Moonlight finish:
Less visible finger prints
Reflection is Less than espresso black.
White keyboard.........as there is no backlit with black keyboard
Can get dirty easily if i am not wrong.

I don't know about the looks as i haven't seen them except on internet.

I ordered the black one right now ........... and thinking if i have to keep this laptop at least for 2 years, then 2 weeks of returning process and getting the new one will not make that big of a difference.
Thanks guys!

 

Thins i am not happy with about HP
HDX18 is replaced by DV8t Which is good as this one comes with QUAD....
HDX16 is replaced by DV6t Which is good as this one comes with QUAD....
disadvantages:
1. no backlit keyboard
2. no 1080P (Not in dv6t and dv7t) (only dv8t has it)
unbelievable hp made such a great move with some stupid mistakes

 

Finally some pictures. Hope you like!

 

This lappy looks awesome in white. I'm glad I ordered this finish. Congrats.

 

I just did it.I bought OCZ Vertex 60GB SSD and I keep my factory 5400 rpm (Hitachi) as storage

I don't like to use 7200 as storage because it get to hot.I try with 7200 Scorpio Black.To hot.5400 hdd without operating system is fast enought for storage.

 

Hey guys,

I just uninstalled "homepage protection". the publisher was shown as "aol". Does anyone know what this is? I used the uninstall program center under control panel. thanks

 

The black version may be a fingerprint magnet, but you tend not to notice it unless you're a real stickler for these things. I can't vouch for the white version, but I wouldn't assume the fingerprints are any less visible. Any light reflection off the surface will likely show you all the fingerprints anyways and with no light illuminating the fingerprints on the black version I can't see any fingerprints though I know they're there.

If you're actually going to be in a dark enough room, the keys being white won't likely help you to see what the keys are so I wouldn't make that assumption either.

 

Everytime I adjust the brightness slider for being plugged in I drag it to 100% then after every reboot its on 50% again for being plugged in. IDK, I'll just use the brightness keys. Oh and by the way the HP recommended is the original balanced plan just renamed.

 

Thank you. The white finish is beautiful imo.

So far this is what I have done:

-Created the recovery dvds
-Saved all my original drivers using drivermax
-Fresh windows install, used install key at bottom of laptop. Had to activate by phone
-Reinstalled HP drivers and some software (a whole bunch). The drivers page http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=404164 was super useful.
-Found that fresh windows used an older keyboard driver, recovered the newer driver from drivermax backup.
-Installed intellitype pro keyboard sw to get on screen display (osd) volume controls (credit to haxorJimDuggan). Strangely, I found that when using ir remote control I do get the original osd, but not when using the keyboard volume slider. I'd like to know why.
-Removed recovery partition on primary HDD, extended C drive to reclaim the extra 15 Gigs
-Installed 2nd hard drive from my old laptop. Found that bay screws were very hard to remove because they have e-clip retainers underneath the cover, so the screws wouldn't come off without a struggle. Even with screws off the cover wouldn't budge, so I removed primary drive cover to get a good hold of it.
-Made backup image of fesh install, in case drive dies I won't have to reactivate windows.

The computer is real snappy, boots in under 30 seconds. I'm very pleased so far.

 

I thought this would be a cool idea. Everyone can post their reboot times for the DV7t. Download http://www.sevenforums.com/attachments/tutorials/1099d1227815166-restart-time-restart-time.zip

follow directions and post your reboot time. Now on my DV7t I had to revert back to the factory installed WIN7 and my system is blazing fast. I have thoroughly cleaned my registry after uninstalling some bloatware which is the same as a clean install imo.

 

Just received my dv7t yesterday and it really is nice (even with bloatware some of which I am using!!)

I only have one thing I can't fix.

When my cursor hovers (or stops) on something for about 4 seconds it acts just like I clicked it. I really would like to stop this behavior, how do I turn this off. I looked under pointing devices, mouse but nothing to do with hovering. I google it and somebody said uncheck hoving in accessiblity buy it is not checked.

Please help.

Thanks

 

how did you remove the recovery partition. why is it there anyway?

 

Sounds interesting enough. I would go to HP support at http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html and reinstall the driver...if there is one available for the trackpad. If there isnt or that doesnt work, call HP.

UPDATE: They do have a driver for the touchpad. Check this page out and pick your dv7t model: http://h20180.www2.hp.com/apps/Look...S-A-R163-1&h_query=dv7t&submit.x=5&submit.y=8

 

Thanks I will try the new driver. I guess then no one else has this "feature". Does this also include the mouse I have which has the same "feature"?

 

The drive had 4 partitions: system, c:, recovery, and hp_tools. System has the master boot record, c: has windows, recovery has the factory recovery image, hp_tools has memory and disk diagnostics that can be activated on bootup.

Recovery partition is used to create the recovery dvds, HP puts the images there instead of giving you the dvds because they're cheap. You can also recover directly from the partition at bootup. I made my dvds and I'm good with those, so I deleted it and reclamed the space.

I just went to control panel-> administrative tools-> computer management->disk management. I deleted the recovery volume, then extended the c: volume. It was very quick.

 

This is mine


Looks like you did a good job with that registry
Maybe the extra 2GB ram account for the difference?

 

Let us know if it works.

 

I'm thinking of getting this or the dv8t. A few questions; is the only diff. between this and the dv8t the resolution and the extra inch? Would the dv7t be prefered then? Does the sub woofer come on all models? Is this thing only available in the US, and if you can get it in Canada, is there a specific store I could check it out at? I would be using the coupon for the extra $200 off, if you can get this on the Canadian site, would that coupon work? Also, what is the $500 coupon I heard some people talking about near the beginning of the thread? And how do you get the white finish, only the black one is available on the site.

Thanks, just a bit cautious.

EDIT: Also, on this page, the image for the dv8t quad looks fairly normal, and the dv7t quad looks alot darker... Is that just a bad image or is it really that dark?

EDIT 2: Ooh, also, the dv8t comes with a BluRay drive, but the dv7t has it as a $150 upgrade... Is it worth it to go with the dv7t upgrade or get a dv8t?

 

I doubt the ram makes a difference. But I'm using the program Easy Clean, its free and cleans out the registry. I run it once a day.

http://download.cnet.com/ToniArts-EasyCleaner/3000-2094_4-10529179.html

download it, its great.

 

G2K:
I am in the same situation as you are.
What i think.
dv7t is with (1600 x 900) which is good with according to the same size.
dv8t is the 1080p i dont think it means that you have better resolution but instead you have good according to the screen size the main thing which makes the difference is 1) High deff (which both are) 2) 16:9 ratio which again both has. So i think it is not going to make much difference if you go with "1080p" . 1080p is think 1:6:1 or some thing like that and ppl say is not better than 16:9.
But again the both has gr8 graphics in the market in this price.

2nd, in every custimization dv8t is cheaper than dv7t around $100. Which is Plus

3rd difference i am able to find is that the dv8t is 1.1 inch bigger than dv7 17.4-18.4. I my opinion if i am buying 17.3 inch laptop it is still bigger than 16 inch which i will rather call a laptop and any thing bigger than that is a Desktop replacement. 17.3 or 18.4 will make difference of 1.1 inch screen and 1lb weight increase hummmmmmmmmmmmmm and you know what i am using a dell inparion 9400 17 inch from the past 3 years which is still heavier than dv8t and yea it is 1lb heavier than dv8t.

4th that might make a big difference and that is battery time.

Conclusion: I think either one has good resolution i don't know how much the other things going to make difference for you.

Now my dv7t is in the making process and i hope i am going to receive it in a week or so. I am going to use it for 1 week or 2 then if i think i still want dv8t then i will go for that but i haven't use dv7t yet so i am waiting......

I went to bestbuy specifically to see the size of 17.3 and 18.4 today after watching new moon movie which was good, 17.3 seems a comfortable size to me and they didnt have 18.4 on display. So if i get dv8t in size not that much difference it gonna make but still that is the biggest screen you get for a laptop right now so..........i am going to post my review of dv7t thoughts of getting dv8t. Configuration of my latpp are on page 17.

 

Thanks for the link. However I saw it was incorrectly reporting a lot of entries as invalid. A lot of files in c:\Windows\system32 were reported as missing but they are in fact there.

Same thing happened with winutilities registry cleaner. I think it might not be reliable in windows 7, or maybe with the 64-bit version?

I tried another software called cleanmypc registry cleaner. It only reported a couple of valid entries as invalid, apparently it didn't recognize the use of %SystemRoot% in those instances properly, although it did in most... so it's still not perfect but seems better.

Maybe someone here can recommend a reliable registry cleaner for win 7 x64?

 

I prefer using Ccleaner (and it's FREE)... very simple interface and quite reliable too. Just leave everything to default. One more thing, when you are cleaning the invalid registry, before deleting then it asks you to save the registry file. So don't FORGET to SAVE REGISTRY Backup. Then you can hit DELETE.

Ccleaner: http://www.ccleaner.com/download

OR, you can also try Auslogics Boostspeed (15days Trial $29.00 for 3PCs). Works great too. It provides you many more utilities to enhance your system performance.

Auslogics: http://www.auslogics.com/en/software

FYI.. You can Auslogics disk defrag. It's free and very fast.

EDIT1: You can also make few tweaks in the registry (See attachments).
IMPORTANT: You shouldn't make changes to registry entry if you are not comfortable with it.

Do the following to change WaitToKillServiceTimeout:

Start>Run>regedit>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>SYSTEM>ControlSet001/002 >Control>WaitTokillServiceTimeout>12000 to 5000

Don't go below 5000, this might have some adverse effects on your system.

EDIT2: changing few things under MSCONFIG as shown in the attachment.
NOTE: Some says it does enhance boot times, others says, it doesn't do anything since by default windows automatically takes all the processors available on your system during the start up....

But doing so, won't hurt. You can always revert back to original settings.

 

After removing the bloatware lost the on screen indication when i increase or decrease volume.Is it possible to return it?

 

This one worked for me, although it is NOT just a registry cleaner: http://download.cnet.com/Advanced-SystemCare-Free/3000-2086_4-10407614.html?tag=mncol;lst

 

hmmmmmm On mine it was fine, nothing came up missing or invalid. But I'm going to use CCleaner instead of Easy Clean now.

 

Yeah that is HP Media Center, you need to have that installed for the volume indicator to work.

 

Hp media Center or Media Smart?Do i need to install the whole Media Smart or just one application?

 

Hey it seems like these were updated on the HP site overnight, now the dv8t comes with a free upgrade to500GB (Was free upgrade to 320GB last night) and the dv7t comes with a free upgrade to BluRay now! Confiigured the way I want and with coupons, that brings the dv8t to $1074 and the dv7t to $999! Would the extra $70 be worth it for a larger screen and resolution?

 

hi
was curious, where did you get a caddy for the laptop
wanted to do the same. Also being an absolute ssd noob, can you tell me what kind of ssd (specs) will the dv17t accept ie 2.5" or 1.8"; sata, ide or pata etc
thanks
adi

 

Hi guys,

Have a problem here. My "L" key is squeaking quite loudly and sticking every once in a while. I think the spring might be broken or defective. Any suggestions? I don't think its possible for there to be anything under the key since I just got it about 3 days ago.

 

I just installed an Intel X-25 80GB in my dv7-3080 which originally came with one 500gb Seagate drive. This drive is set up with a clean install of Win7 Home Premium 64bit.

I have ordered the HP 517639-001 drive kit from a company called Xyverx.com in Naples FL and hope to have it in a week so I can re-install the original drive in the second bay for data.

 

Contact your nearest HP dealer

 

If it bugs you like it bugged me with the left side of the keyboard you simply return and go pick the DV7t up at Best Buy like I did.

 

I finally got to look closely at a DV7t at Fry's today. This was the 1380US model with 6 GB RAM.

I was surprised to see the low mark on the Windows Experience Index to be 5.5 for memory (I think it was memory, not he HD). I'm curious what numbers others are seeing with 4GB machines. Any input would be appreciated.

I found the screen (regular, not Infinity) to be incredibly reflective. Admittedly, Fry's has terrible, terrible lighting.

But the biggest problem was how sensitive the display was to being slightly tilted up or down. I want to use the laptop for evaluating photographs and this display seemed far more sensitive to angle of view than my Dell 700m.

How does the angle of view compare with other laptops with 17 or 18" screens?

Thanks!

 

I paid 925 and the one at bestbuy.com is 1300. I can't do that. I'm pretty sure that the spring is defective. Dammit. I love the laptop. Damn, damn, damn.

 

hmmmmmm well worse case you just exchange it. But I would do it now before the holidays.

 

Should I exchange it or have them repair it? Either way will take about 2 weeks. Funny, I wonder if HP has a lot of keyboard problems. Ah there is goes again...the squeaky "L"! LOLLOL

 

Hey guys new here. I just ordered an HP DV7t Intel quad core i7(2.75GHz), 320GB HDD, 4GB(DDR3), 1GB Nvidia Geforce GT 230m, 17.3 display, Wireless N.

Build/ship date is Nov. 30

Does anyone know if there laptops ship that date is it any earlier/later?