HP nc8430 fingerprint scanner and PowerPlay problems with Vista

I am using a new nc8430 laptop:

Core 2 Duo 2ghz
ATI mobile x1600
2GB ram
Pre-Installed Vista Business

I am having some problems when Vista comes out of Standby or Hibernation

For example, in ATI Powerplay i have it set to Max Performance on AC power, and Max battery life when on battery.

The default clock rate is 425mhz gpu and 375mhz memory

In max battery life it clocks it down to 200mhz/100mhz.

This works once if i have it plugged in, then just unplug and use battery, it clocks correctly down to the lower speed for more battery life. If I am on battery and come out of Standby, the GPU clocks itself to the Balanced setting in Powerplay. I try to change the Battery mode to max performance and back to max life but it won't change the clock rate unless i log off and back in.

Another problem is fingerprint scanner. I have it set to not auto-accept finger scans so if i am typing I dont accidently keep trying to scan it with my palm. This also happens after standby and hibernation. The HP credential manager says that auto accept scan is off, but is on until i log back off or on, or restart the computer.


It seems like this is most likely a vista problem. Does anyone have any solutions?

 

Update: I found that the ATI Powerplay problem exists when on AC power too. I go into sleep mode, then come back out, and it is stuck at the "Balanced" clock rates while still saying it is at the "Max Battery Life" or "Max performance" setting. This can only be fixed if I log off or unplug and replug in the power adapter.

 

It happens on mine too and only on Vista (and afaik, it is a known problem as other users are having similar issues). My guess is that the settings are right, only the CCC software doesn't refresh the clock speed being displayed.
You can use ATI Tray Tools for better configuration options, and it works on Vista too.

 

It is true that the CCC software does not refresh correctly displayed clock speeds. I am using Everest to check clock speeds and after coming out of standby in Everest the clock speeds are at the "balanced" speeds while still being on a different setting.

 

I tried using ATI tray tools and disabling powerplay. I get the same problem. After standby it resets clock to 400/350.

 

Anyone else having this problem?

 

I upgraded to Vista SP1 and I am still having this problem with my ATI mobility x1600. Only after computer comes out of standby. Any known solutions? I will try ATI tray tools again.

 

mind posting the driver version you use for anything thats having problems? also are you using 32bit or 64bit? i installed vista ultimate (both 32 and 64bit) the other day, and dont seem to experiencing the problems your getting (i'll have to double check later tonight, as i didnt quite pay attention to that stuff, mainly because i get 3 hours and 45 mins battery life). that and i havent installed sp1 (i got a couple of mui installed, so sp1 isnt offered on windows update yet)

 

I am using Vista Business 32bit with SP1. I had this problem before SP1 since the first time I used the laptop.

My current drivers are:
8.391.3-070626A-50374C A (3 Aug 2007) Found here

 

quick question, have u updated ur motherboard firmware recently? i believe in version f.15 they updated the videocard bios... might solve the problem

however, the driver version your using is the same as mine, ill reinstall my vista hd (got 2 harddrives, xp is much better for business enviroment) and test it out later today, and edit this post with updates.

edit** so i booted into vista, and what do u know, i also have the problem (in both 32bit and 64bit), must be a driver issue, i'll download the official catalysts and mod them for mobility and see if the problem still exists
too bad hp doesnt update their vista video drivers often and the ones they do update dont work for the x1600 (talking about the HD2600 ati drivers...)

 

Damn, I didn't realize my BIOS was out of date i am running f.14, I will update and see if that fixes the problem. Thanks for the reminder!

 

Just updated to f.15 and the problem still exists. It is not that big of a deal just would like it to clock down to the max battery life setting when in class so i can get more out of my battery when I am just taking notes without having to restart my laptop.


I also just installed ATI tray tools to see if the problems happens when Powerplay is disabled and I use the Auto overclocking feature with Tray tools to use a specific overclock profile when on AC power or Battery. The same thing happens. Before going into standby I test by unplugging AC power and it clocks down to my "Battery Saver" profile, and goes to my "performance" when plugging AC back in. When going into standby and resuming however it clocks itself back to the same speed it has always been doing when resuming from standby. I have also played with many settings in Tray tools and the same thing still happens.

Bios update and Tray tools still not solving problem.

 

i hear ya, i know what u mean about the battery life, i also didnt know about this clocking problem, until i saw your thread. surprisingly, the other day i was at school and my laptop lasted 3 1/2 hours on battery...

well i just tried updating to the newer version of the catalyst control panel (pain in the a** to do too...) but it seems to have no effect... must be the way the drivers were coded... guess its time to bug hp for new drivers, or they're just to busy making drivers for the newer videocards (hd2600 in perticular...)

when i have alot more time, ill try using modded ati catalyst drivers to see if that fixes it...

*update - march 4*
installed catalyst 8.2 still happening, guess its not fixed in the newest drivers

 

Bump..


Just wondering if anyone had any input to this problem. Please read the first post.

 

Bump plzzz!!!!

Anyone know of a BIOS fix, I am guessing this is a video card bios problem with vista.

 

Hm, I experience the same on my notebook. Yesterday I've updated to 9.3, and I was happy, that for the first time the clock went down to 200Mhz on battery. And this morning after resuming NB from sleep I realized it's back to 392MHz and I cannot change it :-(