HP Zv6000

I have the HP top load case. You can also buy it here for $20 + shipping:

http://www.techexcess.net/ProductInfo.aspx?productid=DL618A-ABA

Shipping for me was about $12, but you also get the surge protector and slip case.

The center compartment for the laptop is slightly suspended from where it hits the ground. There is a separate sleeve inside that compartment that might be what you are looking for to secure the notebook, but the zv6000 would be too big to fit in it. The case is bulkier than slim style cases, but overall it's a good choice and should protect it well. It is made by samsonite.

 

Has anyone tried to setup any linux distro on this? I have the ZV6000 custom build and I'm having hell setting up a decent distro on it. It just hangs on the loader...

Thanks,

 

not me, sorry.

 

I tried to upgrade both memory slots with some PC3200 Crucial that I bought from Dallas Memory on my A64 3500+ model. It came with a 256 mg pc2700 module in slot one (under kekyboard). If I installed a Crucial 512 pc 3200 in slot 2, leaving in the HP 256 mg in slot 1,it didn't work. If I installed a Crucial 512 pc3200 in slot 1, but left slot 2 empty, it worked. But, if I installed both (2) 512 pc3200 modules in slot 1 and 2, it was unstable. Therefore, I sent them both back and got 2 x 512 pc2700 and they worked fine. Blaaaaa....

In addition, there is the problem with the "defanging" of one of the memory channels; the proprietary IrD, the tinny sounding speakers, and my Synaptics pointing device won't provide tap zones with Firefox, but works OK with IE.

When I discovered the defanged memory channel, I wanted to send this *thing* back, but it was too late....30 days had passed. Needless to say, I would not buy this laptop again, unless the bios were revised to deal with the memory issues and the dual channel issues. I don't think they will ever do this because it would cause a good many of these machines (depending on memory configurations provided and added) to be unstable and thus incur extra warranty claims for HP. The problem is that if you flash the bios and it becomes unstable, it might not be a simple matter (for most, including me) to re-flash or roll back to the working version. So it would have to work from the git go and they just aren't there, and in my view, because of consumer grade memory components provided, they aren't likely to ever be there. (with all due respect to any HP apologists here and elsewhere)

The computer does work OK, though, and for the money (about 1000 w/ mirs, including 12 cell batt, dvd rw, brightview, but not added memory) represents what I consider a fair value . However, keep in mind the old adage, "you get what you pay for" and do not expect to get the "cream of the crop" with this laptop.

All in all, I'm willing to admit I made a mistake buying this laptop, but it's not one that I can't live with. I just assumed (mistake) that HP was a good enough company to support the features of this processor, I.E., dual channel, on a processor that is billed as dual channel, and that would be 3% -10% faster with dual channel than without, depending on the application. It's all about giving the customer "the best value" in consideration of a purchase. HP has made a statement, loud and clear, in this case that they do not want to give the most value possible for the money. Nor have they offered any other plausable explanation either in their documentation or website.[:0][:0]

Hott001

 

i had the same problem with firefox but it was fixed when i got the new drivers from the synaptics website

 

A trend i am seeing from the good old HP laptops is that they all seem to have to have their drivers updated. The first thig im gonna do is get all that bloatware off and then im gonna run a windows update and then finall update any other drivers that need it. I am hoping i will be able to get the omeaga drivers working with this machine, because they show so much of an improvement in gameing situations...but i have read that they dont work right with them[V]. If anyone knows how to get them working/has them working, could you post and let me know how to get them to work!?

Thanks

~HP Pavilion ZV6000 series~
-AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz
-512MB RAM
-128MB ATI Mobility radeon X200m
-80GB 5400RPM HDD
-15.4" Widescreen w/ Brightview
-DVD±RW W/DL support
-XP Pro
-2X 12-Cell Batteries

 

Has anyone else noticed that the option to customize the ZV6000 at HPShopping.com disappeared a few days ago? What's up with that? You can still customize the R4000, though.

 

I am hoping to get mine tomorrow or Costco is going to get an angry call. Anyways, I am planning on putting a clean copy of XP on there as soon as I can boot it up. Are all the drivers I need on the disks? Is the copy of XP pro thats included clean? What other challenges await me?


Also, I have a Samsonite laptop bag made for 15" laptops, will it accomodate this one? Its pretty thick so the thickness may not be a problem. I need to know about the length and width.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by djohnsen

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Imacyco

 

HP provides a clean Window XP disk. Don't recall all of the bloatware other than the usual suspects like several internet service providers (AOL etc), Office Standard (Operable for 60 days), Norton Antivirus with a 90 day subscription, Microsoft Money 2005, muvee audio producer, Record Now, Sonic label maker and ? All of the bloatware and drivers are on a separate disk.

 

Well my laptop was supposed to ship today. I dont know if it did or not because according to HPSHOPPING.com's phone support, there is a 24-48hr delay in when the item is shipped and when they get the tracking number/update the order status. He told me that the whole ZV6000 model is delayed because, "HP didnt think that so many people were going to be buying that model". I am just waiting for them to let me know if it is delayed so i can hopefully get a $50 coupon for HPshopping, but even more i would like to have my notebook. (I feel that a delay is inevitable).....Do you think this guy is giving me some BS or do you think he is acurate in his response?

~HP Pavilion ZV6000 series~
-AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz
-512MB RAM
-128MB ATI Mobility radeon X200m
-80GB 5400RPM HDD
-15.4" Widescreen w/ Brightview
-DVD±RW W/DL support
-XP Pro
-2X 12-Cell Batteries

 

yea you won't know if your notebook is delayed or not until 1 day after your ship date. You'll either recieve a tracking # or an apology letter.

 

The delays are most likely due to the non-availability of the processors since AMD lacks the manufacturing ability of Intel and they are virtually selling every chip they produce...They are building a new fab which will probably become operational next year(I think), so if the demand keeps up there will be certainly be more delays until the new fab comes online.

------------------------
Compaq Presario R3340US AMD Athlon 64 3200+, 512MB, 80GB 5400rpm
15.4" Brightview WXGA.
------------------------

 

yeah..its getting kinda crazy now.
was supposed to ship on the 24th revised to the 31st.
I doubt it doesnt ship till the 7th.
[ ]

 

you get it automatically
basically its a sorry note followed by an email with the 50dollar coupon

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by MashiMaro

 

Yep..

I wondering if my laptop is going to get delayed again...suppose to ship on the 7th of June. If it gets delay again...i will recieve another $50 coupon [ ]

 

would be nice if you could combine the coupons.
enough delays and you could score a new camera cheap.
[ ]

 

haha!! yea that would be nice...but really tho...I rather have my laptop on time than the 50.[xx(]

 

My laptop was also suppose to ship on the 24th. Got the e-mail with the $50 saying it would ship no later then 10 days after the original date. If it doesn't ship by this weekend I am going to do some major *****ing. Going to see if I can get some money knocked off my total. They really need to fire the manager in charge of component ordering for the laptops. Burns me to no end that I order this thing for work (consultant) and still do not have it and I really need to have it.[ !][ !][ !]

Thanks,
Snyperx

 

MashiMaro
<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by MashiMaro

 

Hp and a class in Marketing Ethics

Report by Havok_rls2



For those of you who have been keeping up with my posts on this forum you pretty much know that I’m about give you my final (maybe) report regarding the “single channel/dual channel memory controller issues on the socket 939 AMD 64 processors used in the Hp series zv6000 and r4000 notebook computers.

Simply put… It’s all Hp’s fault and there is nothing they are planning to do about it…
Believe it or not it is really that simple, but let me start somewhere towards the beginning and give some of you that are lost a brief minute to catch up.

Ready???? Here goes nothing.

Today I spent most of my day trying to get and English speaking Hp representative until I got all for about fed up and called Hp corporate headquarters in Palo Alto CA(650-857-5518). The phone attendant transferred me to Hp Executive Customer Relations (650-857-7166) after opening a case file for my issues.
The first person I spoke to was David who was attentive enough to listen and actually take notes on my concerns regarding the “single channel/dual channel issues with the AMD 64 processors” and why Windows XP x64 will not be supported by these two systems. In all fairness he did inform me that he was completely non-technical but would research my issues with his Hp Engineering Department. Cool!
About 2 hours later David calls me back with answers to my questions in the form of an e-mail he received for engineering. Just not the right answers.
The e-mail from the engineering stated that the zv6000 series notebooks do not support dual channel memory…Blaaa… Blaaa… Blaaa. Mu-na-ma-nah…
I strongly disagreed and explained to David why I thought the engineers were avoiding the question with vague answers. I even want so far as to give him a AMD specs briefings that my A+ instructor would have been proud of. Again he took his note and ran with it all the way back to the Hp Engineers. Meanwhile I got on the phone and called AMD technical support. While on the phone with AMD confirming that Hp couldn’t have ordered a bunch of wacky single channel 939 chips, I receive another call back from David at Hp. Now imagine if you will AMD tech support in one ear and Hp Customer Relations on the other and I say” Hey David, could you hold on for a second? I have AMD on the phone right now.” LAMO
Well after ending my conversation with the AMD tech and getting back on the phone with David at Hp, he transferred me over the Paul who just so happen to be one of the lead Engineer specializing in notebook PCs. Paul got right to the meat of things in his attempt to explain to me why the zv6000 and r4000 do not and will not support dual channel memory control. THE HARDWARE WILL NOTE SUPPORT IT!
Okay but why? It’s because the chipset on these two model notebook computer were not designed by the manufacturer to support the dual channel and, NO. A BIOS update can’t and won’t fix the issue. The problem lay in the south bridge of the mainboard which does in-fact control the function of the memory controller on the processor. Or something like that… The problem is that those needed pathways don’t exists on the mainboard chipset.WTF!!!!
It doesn’t stop there boys and girls. How would you like to know that Hp knew about this the whole time? YES! They sure did. I asked that exact question and the answer I received was the following; “Well laptops were designed to conserve power so some function have to be cut in order to keep it usable under battery power, no notebook on the market has the same power as a desktop.” Yes but are you aware that this is supposed to be a desktop replacement and Windows has power management tools? What about the options for people working on AC power and if power conservation was it be an issue, why not stay with the socket 754 chips with the 512kb L1 and 1mb L2? By you putting the 939 chips in and not supporting the dual channel memory you’ve quite honestly crippled it and made it slower than the 754 because at least that one was designed to be single channel. I got no answer… But I kept asking questions anyway.
You see what Hp has successfully done is sold all it’s customers a product based completely on the reputation that AMD has created for the Athlon 64 processor even though they know it wouldn’t work to AMD factory specs on their(Hp) mainboards and even got us all(including myself) to pay more for it. Out-freaking-standing!
Oh! I almost forgot. The ATI IGP issues everyone seems to be having… same reason. The fact of the matter is that those who just so happen to have the zv5000 hp notebook actually have a better laptop then any of us who have the zv6000 or r4000.
Before I got off the phone with Paul I asked him one final question. How can we resolve this issue? What should I tell my users who currently have these two model notebook? Answer; “They can return then if that haven’t had them more than 30 days.”
I’m thinking…. DUH!

Not to pour salt in anyone’s wounds but I thought you should know that the AMD 64 4000+ with the dual channels turned off is has actually about the same performance as the 754 Athlon 64 3600. Just a little bit of information I pick up during my conversation with AMD.

- Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Professional with SP2
- AMD Athlon(TM) 64 3200+ (2.0GHz/512KB L2 Cache)
- 15.4" WXGA BrightView Widescreen
- 128MB ATI RADEON(R) XPRESS 200M w/Hypermemory(TM)
- 512MB DDR SDRAM (1x512MB)
- 80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive
- DVD+/-RW/R & CD-RW Combo w/Double Layer Support
- 54g(TM) Integ. Broadcom 802.11b/g WLAN & Bluetooth
- 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery

 

Thank you Havok_rls2, "da man" for confirming what I have thought and previously posted similarly. I still don't understand why they just didn't use the 754 based processer with 1 mb L2 cache? I think that the desktop A64 model must be cheaper. Anyway, I am posting a link to an online complaint site that I found because it will be easy for all to file some kind of complaint that way. The site is:

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/php/a_report.php

For whatever its worth. I returned my r3000z for this **thing** thinking it was a bettter deal. What a mistake!!! I predict that eventually there will be some kind of litigation on this. Perhaps a call to David Packard would help too.

Anyway, Havok, you have our sincere appreciation for sticking with this until we finally got the straight scoop.
Hott001

Hott001

 

Does anyone know if the ZV6000 supports bootable USB2.0 external HD. I like everything about the ZV6000 except for the choice of hard drives they are all slow.

AMD Athlon64 3800+
1gb
XP Pro
15.4 Brightview
128mb Radeon 200m
60gb 5400
LightScribe DVD+/-RW
802.11 WLAN w/125HSM/Speedbooster
12 Lithium
XB2000 Expansion Base

BTW has anyone had any luck getting the OfficeJet T45 to work using a USB/Parallel conversion cable?

RJ Smith

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by guarnefinca

 

Thanks Miner, do you know what BIOS the ZV6000 comes with supposedly if they are the Insyde Mobile Embedded bios then it is possible to boot from an external USB hard drive. Kinda bummed about this dual channel memory thing that and the fact that the 3800+ is a screamer in a desktop I figured it would be almost as fast in the ZV.

RJ Smith

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by guarnefinca

 

The first person I spoke to was David who was attentive enough to listen and actually take notes on my concerns regarding the “single channel/dual channel issues with the AMD 64 processors” and why Windows XP x64 will not be supported by these two systems. In all fairness he did inform me that he was completely non-technical but would research my issues with his Hp Engineering Department. Cool!
About 2 hours later David calls me back with answers to my questions in the form of an e-mail he received for engineering. Just not the right answers.






Whats the part about Windows XP x64 not being supported?

 

Ok, here's the latest: I called yesterday to see what the progress of the laptop build was. It was originally set for 5/24/05, and then delayed as previously mentioned. On 6/2/05, customer service said the build date was 6/3/05, and once it was shipped, I should get an email on about 6/6/05 (once it was in the system).

I got an email today 6/3/05, and the laptop is in FedEx's hands on a slow boat from China. Estimated delivery on 6/9/05.

Anyone else get the same info from the 5/24/05 build date delay?

As far as the dual-channel dilemna goes, is it worth getting a class-action lawsuit together to:

1: prevent them from doing this again
2: gaining compensation for lost product power and ability
3: keeping us 'happy' as HP loyal customers

My config:
HP Pavilion ZV6000
-AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz
-512MB RAM
-128MB ATI Mobility radeon X200m
-60GB 5400RPM HDD
-15.4" Widescreen w/ Brightview
-DVD±RW Lightscribe
-XP Pro
-12-Cell Li Battery

 

Thanks for the info Scottman I have given it some thought and I am going to stick with the ZV6000. I am not using it for games just business so I am sure it will be fine. And if I think that the standard HD is to slow then I will upgrade to the 7200 like Miner suggested
<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by scottman

 

I just got my zv6000 for my wife last week. So far we like it, it does what we need however I am trying to put more RAM into it. I bought some Kingmax PC2700 1gig to put in place of the 256 I have access to on the back of the computer. The Computer starts to load, it shows it has 1200+ of ram in the BIOS (the 1gig plus the 256) but when it gets to just about the loading desktop part.. it just reboots.. Sometimes I will get a blue screen, but it doesn't stay up long enough to read it.

After reading around, the only thing I could find was another person had a problem with Kingmax PC2700 512 ram and took it back and got the Kingston brand and it worked.

I just weanted to see if anyone else has tried before I go and buy the Kingston. Can I put a 1gig stick even if the internal is only 256?

I have also been reading that some people have replaced the internal ram along with the one in the back.. how do you get into the computer to do that? I build Desktop computers so I know my way around those.. I just didn't want to break into a laptop and mess something up.
Thanks!

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Shirow

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by scott w

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by hr_phenom
Whats the part about Windows XP x64 not being supported?
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

I think they mean that it won't be "officially" supported with HP gathering up the new drivers required and releasing them. Several people have gotten XP64 to work on the R3000/ZV5000, so I can't see why it wouldn't work on the R4000/ZV6000. However, the people who did this had to hunt down the drivers from the various manufacturers. So, it should work. It's just that HP is not going to help you make it work.

Russ

HP ZV5000z
Athlon 64 3000+
768mb RAM
60gb 4200rpm HD
nVidia G0 440 64mb
DVD-RW/CD-RW
1394, 5-in-1 card reader
15.4" wide screen
802.11 b/g w/Speedbooster

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by mtrivs

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by scottman

 

I ordered on May 21st and it just shipped today and is expected to be here on June 9th (6 days) from china. I also was sent a $50 coupon for the 2-day delay. I want to see HP come out with some new device drivers specifically the audio and video so that we can get the full potential of the machine we payed for. Does anyone know about using the omeaga drivers or using ATItool with the ZV6000 series?

~HP Pavilion ZV6000 series~
-AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz
-512MB RAM
-128MB ATI Mobility radeon X200m
-80GB 5400RPM HDD
-15.4" Widescreen w/ Brightview
-DVD±RW W/DL support
-XP Pro
-2X 12-Cell Batteries

 

quote]
Kingmax is known to be hit-or-miss, Kingston and Crucial are known to be reliable. It doesn't matter that your internal SODIMM is 256MB, in fact that's less likely to cause problems than if it were 512MB or 1GB (sometimes different chip brands don't play nice with each other). If you want to replace the internal stick, see the service manual on the HP zv6000 Support and Drivers page, the link to Manuals will be on the left-hand side.

After you're done, run http://www.memtest.org to verify the new configuration.
[/quote]

Thanks for the Info! Ordered the 1gig form Newegg today. After this, guess the only thing left to upgrade is the HD. This is a great site!
Thanks! [ ]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by mtrivs

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Havok_rls2

 

With all this talk about the inability of the ZV6000 running only single channel memory can someone tell me if the R4000 has the same issue?

ZV6000 w/3800+

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by guarnefinca

 

Not really an issue I was just wondering if HP was using the same motherboard or bios for those systems. I am sticking with my ZV if it ever gets delivered.

Do you know if the BIOS will allow an external drive to be the bootable drive?

RJ
<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by scottman

 

I mean USB device. Sorry about the fat fingers.

Cope

Cope
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13

 

You can in fact boot from a USM device.

Cope

Cope
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13

 

Finally received my ZV6K Costco order and have been using it for 5 days now. For the last 3 I have been following HP Tech guidance on a weird problem. Does anyone else see this?

If I shutdown and leave the ext pwr cord connected to the ZV6K and unplug/secure pwr from the wall, when I reboot the display comes up dim. If I unplug the pwr cord from the ZV6K or leave connected with pwr on and reboot it comes up normal brightness.

Have reloaded BIOS, ACPI, display, system defaults & enhancements with no change. Down to reloading XP again (did that when I got it). If that doesn't work they want me to send it in for diagnostics. This is a small issue since fn+f8 works fine and since I waited 45+ days to get this I don't want to send it off.

I'm pretty sure this is not a windows issue since the boot screen before windows is loaded comes up dim.

Again, anyone else have this issue?

Thanks, Tom

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by TomM