*HP dv8 Owners Lounge*

I have mixed feelings about not having the USB option. I've seen several LED lights that had it but batteries are fine, too. I'll check out the "Kindle Version". Thanks.

 

Yep, no question that that's where most of the heat is generated inside a laptop.

I believe that removing all obstructions from the cooling provisions on the Dv8 is the most important thing. If those vents are obstructed, temps will zip up to 80+ in a couple of minutes of light use!

I use SpeedFan and CoreTemp to measure only the GPU and CPU temps.

That'll barely get you out of warranty...
I want mine to last at least 5 years and will be really surprised if it doesn't!

 

I appreciate the info. My DV8 runs about the same as yours temp wise. CPU temps hit the high 70's low 80's after a couple of hours of intense gaming. My T61p, by comparison, would be hitting the high 90's and possibly even having performance issues due to high temps, under the same conditions.

I realized that the Zalman wouldn't hit the back vents of the DV8 before I decided to go ahead and purchase it. For me the deciding factor was noise (or rather, the lack thereof) from the cooling pad's fans. I also considered that many people said that the Zalman still cooled their HP (mainly DV7 & 9s) fairly well.

Anyway, noise is the main reason I'm buying it (to quiet the internal fan) and have as silent a notebook as possible. So for me, it's essential that the cooler run as quiet as possible and I will willingly sacrifice some cooling efficiency for a quieter running laptop cooling pad.

As long as the Zalman drops the DV8 temps enough to keep the internal laptop fan from revving up very frequently under normal working conditions, I will be very satisfied. And I think it should be effective enough to do that if, as you say, it will drop the temps by 5 to 10 C. If it doesn't work at least that well, then I guess I'll have to consider doing the Zalman mod you described (which, btw, I wasn't aware of, so thanks for that additional info). I don't really care about the slope, so doing the mod, (i.e., cutting off the back legs and reversing the pad) assuming it would increase cooling effectiveness, wouldn't be much of a downer for me.

Regarding the location of the vents, my thinking (as well as Zalman's apparently) was that by forcing cool air into the intake vents towards the front of the laptop, the cool air would flow across all components from front to rear as it was exhausted by the laptop's internal fan located at the left rear. Also, those vents at the bottom rear left area that you mention are, at least as I understand it, actually the exhaust vents, so pushing air into those particular vents would be unnecessary and actually counterproductive, imo. So for this reason, I was not overly concerned by the Zalman's front biased intake vent coverage.

But I believe you if you say you have tried it and found the Z not to cool as effectively as the T. (Btw, did you try the larger Zalman NC2000 that is designed for notebooks up to 20 inches?) I just hope the Z will cool at least well enough to keep the DV8's internal fan quiet most of the time.

Btw, last night, for the first time, I enjoyed being able to clearly see my keyboard (illuminated by the Mighty Bright).

Changing subject: Regarding the keyboard lettering fading: I haven't noticed any of that happening on my DV8 yet after heavy use for 10 days or so, so maybe HP has fixed that problem (or maybe it's still to early to tell).

 

Phil, here's a photo of the Mighty Bright I got lighting my DV8. But this was shot during the daytime and I don't have the Mighty Bright positioned ideally atm. It does easily light up the entire keyboard with evenly diffused white light. Very smooth beam pattern that is designed to light up both pages of a book or the Kindle for reading, so it does very well for the keyboard. I hope you can make out the light with the tangle of cables around my DV8.

I got the one that comes with a tiny AC adapter (also visible in the photo at the extreme left) so I have mine powered by AC atm, although it runs for something like 40 hours on 3 rechargeable Eneloop type AAA batteries. Another nice thing about LED's, particularly the LED's used in this light, is that they are designed to last for ~100,000 hours, so it's not likely they will ever burn out in my remaining lifetime.

As I think you can see, this little mini desk lamp looks like it will be very useful for many things besides lighting up the DV8's keyboard. The clip section is where the three AAA batteries go and also is designed to act as a table top base for the light when not being clipped to something. So I just have it sitting on it's clip/base here in the picture.

The one I got has one head that contains two LED's. One press of the on/off switch lights up both LED's. A second press turns off one of the LED's and a third press turns them both off. So one can have both LEDs on for max light or one LED on which still provides plenty of light for lighting up the keyboard and provides twice the runtime on batteries. LED's draw very little power hence the runtime on 3 AAA's is pretty incredible, especially if one only uses one of the two LED's.

 

Pae: that's great news about the light. It always feels good to find an easy, cheap solution that works well for others too. On the cooler, I think you are right about the bottom front vents being intake and (if design was that thoughtful) directing airflow to the back of the machine. I do agree that you don't want to block the exhaust vents in the rear, but you do want to try and direct cool air underneath the hotspots that are to the right and frontward of the two exhaust vents. I make sure the vents are off the side and back of the cooler.

But do report in your experience with your Zalman (and no, I don't have the 20" one) because I would rather A quieter and more durable Solution. I Still recommend the Targus Chill Matt AW19 for travel because it is so much smaller and lighter than the Zalman. Also, you can get the Targus to run quieter using low speed. In fact, I can barely hear it. Enjoy! Jeff'

 

Hello, everyone:
If you have an HP SSD in your Dv8, this is potentially important to YOU.

Please go sign the petition to ask HP to expedite its development and release of firmware and suitable installation package that will allow owners of HP-provided SSDs made by Samsung to update their SSDs to support TRIM under Windows 7. Such support will significantly improve write performance of our SSDs and extend their useful life by using more efficient procedures for performing the writes.

Please go and sign it - today!! Here's its link:
http://www.petitiononline.com/HPFW4SSD/petition.html

Guys we are trying to push HP to bring out that firmware for us. Please sign and spread this petition!

If enough people have signed, we can present this to product management of HP and try to negotiate that they bring out the firmware.

 

I will surely let you all know how the Zalman works out. Before it get's here, however, I'll be going to the Bay Area for a week, so I won't have an opportunity to even try the Zalman until I get back around the end of April.

During that period my new loaded DV8 (config in sig) should also be arriving from China and waiting for me upon my return.

It will be interesting to see what it's like carrying my present DV8 with me on this trip to the Bay Area. I haven't even checked to see if it fits in my laptop bag. Just realized, I better do that now.

 

Looks quite good. I'm out looking them up on Amazon ...

Thanks.

 

Below is a diagram showing the location of the many vents (number 4 in the diagram) on the bottom of the DV8. I'm hoping the Zalman will push air into most of the ones that are forward of the battery compartment. I guess it won't push any air into the one located nearest the exhaust vents. Perhaps there will be a way to mod the Zalman to channel some air to that important intake vent. I'll have to see what can be done after I receive it.

 

There's a new updated IDT High Definition Audio Codec driver version 6.10.6269.0 just added on the "Latest Driver" page on this site. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=404164

However, it didn't install on my DV8, saying my hardware was not supported. The install notes for this driver say it's meant for the HP Envy. I'm not sure whether the hardware is truly unsupported or whether there was some other reason why the install failed on my system. If anyone else installs it, I would be interested in hearing whether the install succeeded or not.

Edit: In digging a little deeper, it appears the device id for the IDT device on the DV8 is different from that in this particular version of the driver. I'm not sure whether it would be advisable or not to edit the .inf to modify the device id so this driver would install. I'm inclined to take the cautious route and just pass on this one unless someone else has success with it on their DV8.

 

Peter: Seems like it's wise to wait. Just to have the latest doesn't make sense to me when it's not ready for your hardware. I presume you don't have a current problem with the hardware and current driver, right?
This will get sorted out and you can get it when there are no "issues" or clouds hanging over it.

 

Yes, I agree. Not having any sound problems. In fact, one of the things I especially like about my "HP experience," so far, is the great sound the DV8, and I presume most HP's, have. Certainly don't want to do anything that might screw that up.

 

I installed the new sound driver with no issues. In the driver notes it does mention its for the HP Envy, however, the previous two drivers, one of which most people are running, are for HP TouchSmart and HP ENVY 13 and 15 (see driver notes). So I think these IDT drivers are machine agnostic as long as the same IDT sound chip is installed on Win 7.

 

It appears the device id for the IDT device on my DV8 is different from the one that is listed in this particular version of the driver. Since I'm not sure whether it would be advisable or not to edit the .inf to modify the device id so this driver would install on my unit, I'll continue to hold off installing this one.

My DV8 IDT hardware ID is: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_ 7603&SUBSYS_103C7001&REV_1002
According to the "CVA file information," the one that is listed in the .inf of the new driver is HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_111D&DEV_ 7608="IDT High Definition Audio CODEC". I think that that's why it wouldn't install on my unit. However, other DV8's may have a different device ID for their IDT device that would allow this driver to install. Or maybe something else is screwed up in my configuration.

 

For anyone who's looking to make an HP purchase, Bing CashBack is currently at 25% right now--it only went to 25-30% 3 times last year. Ongoing thread with instructions here:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1981882

Note that use of coupon codes have a 100% chance of canceling any CB!

 

Oh the horror!

If I purchase another unit with BCB and return the unit I just purchased last week but haven't received yet, I could save an additional $117.50 off of what I paid (with a $200 coupon plus they were give $50 more in instant rebates when I purchased).

But, I don't think I want to deal with waiting for even longer to get my new machine plus the hassle of doing the return. Sure is tempting though.

 

I've done it for that exact purpose before--it's not difficult--you just refuse the package upon delivery. They'll automatically credit your card within about 7 days. The real pain is waiting the 60 days for the BCB funds to clear. All you're really losing out on is the time it takes for them to build and ship the unit. TECHNICALLY, since they have a no-questions-asked 21-day return policy, you could use the return until the new one arrives, and inform them you want to return the first. They'll send you a return label and back it goes. No real downtime. I wouldn't try it since it's in the moral greyzone, but lots of people do it.

 

It's tempting but after thinking about it some more, I've decided that the stress of waiting a couple of months to see if I really actually receive the Bing money (i.e., it not getting canceled at the last minute for some BS technicality) isn't worth it to save an extra $117.50. As you put it, that's the real pain. And if they did cancel the BCB for some reason, I'd have lost out on the pretty great deal I have already.

But I do very much appreciate your posting news of the deal here. It's great to have this thread be a place where news like that gets posted.

Speaking of moral gray zones. I've already purchased one DV8 at Costco, then a few weeks later got a far more loaded one from HP Direct (see sig for config (except for the OS, which I had already)) for $1239 b4 tax, with coupons, rebates, free upgrades, etc., which was only about $30 more than I paid for a bare bones unit through Costco. So that's the unit I'm waiting for HP to ship and then I'll be returning my current DV8 to Costco under their 90 day return period.

So I feel slightly guilty (in the moral gray zone) already, even though I consider this one of the privileges of Costco membership for which I pay $100 per year in membership fees.

 

I've gotten about $2700 back in BCB so far--I've never lost out on a payment that wasn't returned or paid for using a coupon. HP is VERY strict, and has their order system well integrated with microsoft. Compared to other retailers, the odds of having an HP/BCB payment go through are very very low. Take a screenshot of the redirect from BCB-->HP, and that's all you need. If it doesn't show up in your account within 3-4 days, email bing and provide the order number, along with the screen--they'll take care of you. I've been retroactively given BCB credit in this manner a few times.

Everyone seems to abuse the costco return policy It used to be 6-months instead of 90-days, and people REALLY took advantage of it then. If you didn't purchase it with intent to use and return it, there's nothing wrong with that...

 

No, I was intending to keep the Costco unit. In fact I was stoked about the 2 year warranty that Costco gave with it along with their 90 day return period and didn't want to give that up, but the HP deal was just too good to pass up. I got an additional (2nd) 500 GB hard drive with mounting caddy, Bluetooth, TV Tuner, Lightscribe DVD drive (instead of the non Lightscribe DVD) all for only about $30 more than what I paid for the Costco unit, plus giving up the 2 year warranty. But I think I will probably buy the 2 year HP accidental damage total care warranty for the new HP Direct unit that Costco sells for only an extra $100.

 

Just a comment on this--if you paid with a Visa or AmEx card, you automatically get an extra 1-year warranty on top of the manufacturer period... Honestly, the price drop (resale value) after the first year is quite steep--it's preferable to be compensated for the original unit cost instead of having the unit fixed... which is why I never go with those extended manufacturer warranties. Credit card and squaretrade warranties are superior in this regard.

 

Couple of questions, if I may. . . I'm not sure I understand what you meant by "it's preferable to be compensated for the original unit cost instead of having the unit fixed . . ." ?

Also, I understand about the automatic credit card extended warranty, and I do have that because I paid for the unit I purchased from HP with an Amex card, but I was wondering how well those warranties actually work because I've never tried to get any warranty work done under a credit card warranty. Do you know how well they work? Is the warranty work done by HP the same as if it was HP's original warranty?

 

With the CC and squaretrade warranties, they examine the goods and determine whether or not to have it repaired. If they decide not to, you get the original amount you paid for the unit--in cash. With a manufacturer warranty, they always fix it and give you the original (or replacement) unit. Even if they fix it, it will ALWAYS be less than you originally paid.

CC coverage works a lot like squreatrade--it's an inhouse operation, and they contract out to repair centers to handle the work. It has nothing to do with the manufacturer. Once you go beyond the manufacturer warranty, you request repairs from your CC (or squaretrade, if you go that route).

Another note. CC and squaretrade warranties DO NOT work with certain extended warranties or secondary warranties. For example, if you buy an HP from a retailer and they give you an extra year of manufacturer warranty coverage, your CC will give you an extra year (3 years total). If you buy from a retailer and they add on an additional year of warranty inhouse (retailer covers second year), then it overlaps with your CC warranty--and you really only get 2 years total.

 

Ok, good to know. Thanks for explaining that for me. The automatic credit card extended warranty sounds better than I thought it was. I would much rather get the purchase price back in lieu of getting the unit repaired (assuming they decided to do that instead of fixing it).

But there also are some extra benefits that come with that "HP Total Care" warranty, like accidental damage protection and, I think, on site repair (although they are very vague about whether and under what circumstances that might apply). Usually, I wouldn't be interested in accidental damage coverage, but compared to my previous laptop which was a Thinkpad (T61p), this HP looks a bit fragile. The top (i.e., back of the lid), in particular, doesn't look very substantial or strong to me. What has me concerned is that just pressing on it not very hard causes it to flex quite a bit. As you maybe can tell, this is my first HP laptop so I'm not that knowledgeable about how they tend to hold up and what they can take.

 

They'll always try to repair it first, but going through the CC guarantees you the highest rate of a refund. Squaretrade is very good about having things repaired.

HP laptops are very durable, unless you start comparing them to thinkpads and panasonic toughbooks. I've gone through about a dozen HP laptops, and I've never had one break (that wasn't my fault). As long as you're picking the DV8 up from the bottom (and not one-handed), it's not going to break on you. DV6/DV7/DV8 (basically the same general frames and designs) are battle-tested by this point, and I've only ever heard of a few people developing minor cracks in the plastic due to inappropriate handling. When it comes to wear, the only thing you really have to worry about is the keyboard. The surface will begin to wear almost immediately, and the only remedy for that is a keyboard replacement. Do yourself a favor and buy a $4 silicone keyboard cover and put it on immediately. If you don't mind wasting $10, go with a clear TPU cover--much better quality.

 

Glad to hear that. I am very careful with how I treat my equipment but I was a little worried about the unavoidable pressure against the lid that might occur while the unit is being carried in a backpack along with other items (not that I do that very often, but every now and then). But from what you say, it sounds like it will be fine.

I really am enjoying some things, aside from the obvious benefits of newer technology, about this unit versus my old T61p. One thing I'm really impressed with is how good the sound is. My Thinkpad had more audio glitches and the sound quality was just generally not as good as what the HP provides. They weren't kidding about the "entertainment" aspect.

 

Phil,

This is a really cool thing to do. I do not have an SSD, but I plan to, and besides, what a great way to show HP there is a strong user base that wants to be heard.

How did you set up the petition system?

Are there other issues we should petition about - say, the disappearing ink on the keyboards?

 

Peter,

Nice photo. I think you have demonstrated the likelihood that the Zalman will push air into so many openings in the base of the dv8 that some wind velocity should inevitably get to the hot spots in the back left (not sure what the heat sources are there, but they are always the hottest parts of the bottom of my computer.

I think you are really smart to take the heat seriously. Heat is the major "killer" of laptops - kind of like smoking and humans! I am told that keeping things cool (applying new and better thermal paste to the cpu and gpu are even more extreme and I do not think warranted on this machine as it is not like an Alienware or Asus G51 that can hit 90*C+.) and keeping dust out of the exhaust vents alone will add 2-3 years to the major components - espec MOBO, cpu, gpu, battery - of the computer (screen excepted) that would be cost prohibitive to fix if cooked, thus "totaling" the notebook.

Funny, I really like heat in the summer - just not inside my expensive electronic gear!

 

Just to see if the software/driver were compatible. My theory was that they were not compatible so I didn't think that executable would run - but I knew if it did then the driver/software combo others had (regardless of version) would work. I believe you said that yours ran and just sat at a black window or something similar? That file just starts the applet in the system tray. It wasn't completely relevant....

 

PMORGAN:

I've noticed something interesting that could pertain to the 'key' we're looking for. Can you please search your system for hpdskflt.sys - I had multiple results, but picked the newest version that said something about driveguard in the description.

Go ahead and open the .sys file with notepad - yeah it's all going to be garbled characters - BUT right about in the center close to the bottom you should see a key (string) pointing to a path in the registry. My memory is a little fuzzy, but I remember it had several other strings in the same location in the registry that were very similar. Find that exact one from the .sys file and there should be several folders ( I think like 001, 002, etc - I think). At the very bottom is a folder called 'permissions' and it gives me access denied and I can't alter it at all.

I just wonder if this what we're looking for? Before I go all out trying to figure out how to force that folder to give me permission (if that's even possible), what do you think? Others (Windstrings, pae77, lovelaptops, etc.) please chime in as well if you'd like, I would like to hear everyone's opinion...

 

Sadly, I do think it's Way too early to assess that. You need to get 30-60 days' use to see if it will hold. I would not have hi expectations.

 

I presume this is the item to which you were referring?

L o w e r F i l t e r s \ R e g i s t r y \ M a c h i n e \ S y s t e m \ C u r r e n t C o n t r o l S e t \ C o n t r o l \ C l a s s \ { 4 D 3 6 E 9 6 7 - E 3 2 5 - 1 1 C E - B F C 1 - 0 8 0 0 2 B E 1 0 3 1 8 }

I presume you want me to open my registry and navigate to the registry location indicated in the HPdskFlt.sys file?

I'll report back after I go looking.

My initial reaction, before searching the registry, is that you're looking in the right file as hpdskflt.sys sounds like it might be a truncation of "HP Disk Filter" to screen drives for the "key" that confirms they are HP drives "supported" under DriveGuard. just a thought.

Thanks for continuing to research this. BTW, can't you just ask someone inside HP to provide the documentation for Drive Protection and 3D DriveGuard?

 

That's what happened in my case. In an earlier post, I thought you had said to expect that it would return something like "drive not supported" or the like. Since it didn't do that in my case, I figured mine had failed the test....

 

Yep, that's what I was referring to.

Yes, navigate there and see what you have please - and see if you have a locked down permissions folder.

That is exactly my thinking (and hoping) word for word

I think what was happening on the machine I had was it loaded the applet in the sys tray with a red x and I assumed it meant 'unsupported' or 'disabled'. I'm thinking it doesn't really matter at all now since we've moved on to other ideas...

 

I found the exact entry in the registry (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ S y s t e m \ C u r r e n t C o n t r o l S e t \ C o n t r o l \ C l a s s \ { 4 D 3 6 E 9 6 7 - E 3 2 5 - 1 1 C E - B F C 1 - 0 8 0 0 2 B E 1 0 3 1 8 }) in the midst of others identical except for first grouping in string ranging from 4D36E965-980. I opened folders under "{ 4 D 3 6 E 9 6 7 - E 3 2 5 - 1 1 C E - B F C 1 - 0 8 0 0 2 B E 1 0 3 1 8 }" and the last one was called "Properties". Access is denied as you said.

I am unable to change its owner to myself so I can set "full control" permissions and authorize my own access. I can't go any further till I sort that out. Such fun!

 

If you are having trouble changing the permissions, you may need to log in under the hidden by default "super" administrator account. Even though your user name (wrt to your computer log in) may already be a member of the administrators group, there is a yet more powerful, hidden by default, administrator user account, that you may have to log in under, in order to be able to change the permissions you are trying to change.

Unless you have already enabled this, hidden by default, administrator user account, you may need to enable it first before you can log in under that user account.

Here's a link to a tutorial that tells you how to enable the hidden super administrator account so you can then log in as that user with more power to make the changes you are trying to make.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorial...t-enable-disable.html?filter[2]=User Accounts

 

I knew there was one but had no idea how to access it, that it was disabled by default, etc. More significant - I had never known that that account would have greater powers than "run as Adminstrator" and such!!! This has been very enlightening - thanks!

 

You're welcome.

I used to run in that super administrator account as my normal user account, but that is really a bad policy from a security point of view. So with my new DV8, I've decided to adopt more of a "best practices" approach and use a regular user account and just log in to the hidden by default super administrator account on an as needed basis. It hasn't proved to be much of a hassle so far.

But I'm not totally using best practices because I can't stand running with UAC enabled, so I have that disabled, which many feel is unsafe. However, I do have a pretty complete set of highly regarded and well configured security apps on board and I am fairly careful about what I sites I visit and things I click on. So far, after many years, I've never had a problem due to not having UAC enabled.

But for most people, especially novice computer users (not that I'm suggesting anyone who frequents this site is a novice computer user ), I suppose keeping UAC on is probably a good idea.

 

Now my previously trouble-free Dv8 is in big trouble! After enabling "hidden by default Administrator" account, I logged off and logged into the new HbDA account. It came up with the default wallpaper and, before I could begin to work, dialog opened in center, "Windows Explorer has stopped working" and reporting that it "was searching for a solution". This is a cycle now between that dialog and one that says,"Restarting Windows Explorer ...".

Any idea what is screwed up here?

BTW, new HbDA account was created and the account folder is populated now under c:\Users.

 

Here's a few ideas I'm just tossing out:

Just a guess but it sounds like explorer could be crashing because of some thumbnail issue with video codecs. You could try disabling thumbnailing temporarily to test this theory. Not sure exactly how you would do that on your system, perhaps in folder options.

You could try logging into the hbdAdmin account in safe mode and see if you can play around with it without the crashing happening, so you can try to fix it.

The admin account showing up under /users/ is normal and expected behavior.

You can also just deactivate the hbdAmin account from w/i your normal user account.

Remember, you can always try system restore if you want to just go back to where you were before this happened (assuming you have system restore enabled. If you don't, you should.)

 

I found nothing that indicates that thumbnails are enabled or where I can disable them.

I'll try that next.

Not sure what that solves? Machine is fine when not logged into HbDA if that wasn't clear...

I don't...

 

Well the first thing you should do, imo, is enable system restore for your system drive (I guess that's your SSD) and create a restore point. This all only takes about 2 minutes max. Enable system restore by right clicking Computer, selecting Properties, and then select System Protection. From there it should be self evident how to enable and configure system restore. You can set the amount of disk space it is allowed to use. Something like 5 to 10 GB should be plenty and enable you to have many restore points. Once configured, create a restore point just so you have something to go back to. After that, your system will automatically create restore points whenever windows update installs updates. You can also create them on demand manually.

It's not a substitute for real backups/clones, but it frequently comes in very handy for me.

About the other problem, I don't know have any more ideas. Time to try Googling the issue to see if you can find any similar situations and solutions.

 

Good point and I'll do so.

On the issue of what was wrong. My NetAdmin training kicked in and I reverted to reviewing the Event Log. It showed, previously unbeknownst to me, a series of red flags and all were on the same piece of offending .dll file though the app seemed to be chugging along flawlessly for weeks. I uninstalled the %#&@ thing and switched user to the HbDA and it logged in and ran flawlessly. WHEE!!! Hot Patooties!

 

On the subject of finding the key that enables 3D DriveGuard to recognize an HP-provided HDD as "supported"

With a suggestion by pae77, I unhid my "hidden by default Uber-Admin" account and logged in. I was able to "take ownership" of the Properties under that key and set permissions to allow me to see what's in it.
Interesting! There were three keys:
default: REG_SZ: (value not set)
Device Characteristics: REG_DWord: 0x00000100(256)
Device Type: REG_DWord: 0x00000007(7)

Now - can someone whose 3D DriveGuard recognizes an HP-provided HDD as "supported", PLEASE repeat this procedure and post what the corresponding keys say in their Properties under the registry location shown above????

 

Glad you got it sorted out. Good work!

 

Thanks, Peter, for the suggestions and encouragement! I am disappointed that the "Classic Shell" app was a problem. I liked the simplification of going back to the XP start menu though.

 

You know I'll do it, the only problem is I'm on the road today so it's going to have to wait until tomorrow at the earliest. Looking at what you found after taking ownership is interesting to say the least....

One thing you can do since I can't check atm is go into device manager and right click on one of your hdd (but check out both) > properties > Details

See if anything in there matches what you found under that registry folder....

I don't know if it will, just a thought, maybe it'll tell us if we're on the correct path...

 

I'll happily check that on my HDD-here's what I found(keys match the ones in registry (shocking!):
Device Class={4d36e967-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}
Driver key= {4d36e967-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0015
Class Upper Filters=PartMgr, snapman
Class default device type=00000007
Class default characteristics=00000100

I noticed there are "upper filters" and wonder if they are worthy of giving the same treatment we've given the "lower filters"?

I hope Peter(pae77) will also do both of these procedures since I'm sure he knows how and then we'll have "data" on some systems/drives that ARE supported under DriveGuard.

 

Mods: Please don't remove this post under the "no double posting rule! I am not reprinting a post, just the URL to the "other" HP dv8t Owners Lounge thread (which really, really, really should be merged with this one, pleeze?)

There is a member who is not only trying to spread havoc and discontent about our computers based on a long-remedied problem with the On Screen Tone Controls, but he has even gotten it posted on the Yahoo Finance HP investor thread, with the goofy mod of that forum writing: "It seems HP is losing its grip on the consumer PC market..." (actually, not a direct quote, but close). It's totally nuts and it will hurt the reputation and resale of our computers, all because one disgruntled person refuses to apply the fixes so many have posted to this relatively trivial problem. Since the post is in the thread that very few people visit (why, again, does this redundant thread even exist?), I feel it a "public service" to let the vast majority of dv8 owners who are NBR members to be informed and have an opportunity to post not only here, but also on the Yahoo Finance site.

The post is found in the recent pages of the "Official HP dv8t Quad Edition Owners Lounge" :

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=439944

 

Right now HP may not be working on either issue regarding our Samsung SSDs.

I found a post today on the HP Business Support forum that bodes ominous for us who want to update our SSD firmware to allow TRIM to operate under Win7 asap.
"according latest discussion with local Slovak HP team - HP now has priority to provide/release Trim supported firmware for Intel based SSD's which are sold much more as Samsung ones. Samsung drives have lower priority and firmware for then is not expected sooner then in late summer 2010."

Unless HP changes its priorities, it'll be a LONG time before our Dv7 and Dv8 SSD's ever see a firmware update to support TRIM under Win7 !!!