Looking to replace a hard drive - Stupid HP support refuses to give out part numbers

Unbelievable. - - I ask HP parts department for a model number for a 100GB 7200rpm HD or the 120GB 5400rpm drive and they give me HP's part numbers ONLY. They won't give me the hard drive manufacturer's model number or part number. Sony was able to do it a couple of months ago when I had to replace that laptop's drive, but not these people. Even Googling their part number turned up only HPs name and I know HP doesn't make their own hard drives.

The reason I say this is I don't want to pay HPs price on the HD but instead want to shop around for it. I currently have a HP/Compaq nc6400 business notebook that has a Seagate Momentus ST980825AS 2.5 inch 7200rpm 80GB drive that I would like to replace for a bigger one, but I don't know what my options are. I believe it's a "Smart Sata" drive.

Does anybody know how I can proceed with this? Thanks

 

A hard drive is a hard drive. Start here: http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=380&name=Laptop-Hard-Drives

You'll probably be wanting a SATA drive.

 

True, but IIRC, only a few HDs will work with the "HP Mobile Data Protection System 3D" which protects the HD if movement is detected...

 

Plus HP is telling me only that I can only go up to 120GB maximum due to the controller attached to the motherboard.

I think that's a load of bullsh!t since they want me to buy one of their drives, but that's what they say...

 

Why would it be manufacturer specific? As far as I can tell, the computer will sense a drop and send a "park" command to the hard drive. Just about all hard drives should be able to do this. And from what I see about the hard drive that the OP currently has, there's nothing special about it in terms of specifically supporting that feature.

 

I should also point out that my current Seagate uses a 1 x Serial ATA-150 interface with a 8mb buffer.

I suspect that because of that, my choices may be limited.

Yes? No?

And does the Serial ATA-150 interface mean the same as SATA 1.5GB/s ?

Any input would be most appreciated. Thanks.

 

SATA I = SATA 150 = 1.5 Gbit/s
SATA II = SATA 300 = 3.0 Gbits/s

SATA II devices are backward compatible with most SATA I controllers (some older VIA chipsets being the notable exceptions). If you plug a SATA II device into a SATA I port, the device will (should) auto-negotiate and revert to SATA I.

The HP Mobile Data Protection System is incorporated on the motherboard with the Intel ICH7 chipset of your NC6400 business notebook. According to the driver notes it “protects the hard drive by "parking the heads" if the notebook is accidentally dropped.” This is essentially the same as HP ProtectSmart g-sensors that are now incorporated into HP retail notebooks. While I have no documentation, I have not heard of anyone having an issue changing HDDs in units so equipped. Based on the assumption that there could be an issue.... I’d say you have basically 3 options.

1. Try an OEM SATA II drive in the capacity you desire. If it doesn’t work, either uninstall the Data Protection driver or return the drive.
2. Uninstall the HP Data Protection driver and (if you have to have g-protection) install a drive that has its own onboard g-protection like those offered by Seagate. They have a “G” at the end of the model number.
3. Pay out the butt for a small outdated drive from HP.

Just my 2 cents…..

 

You should be able to put a 500GB hard drive in there if you wanted to. You musn't forget, HP doesn't know anything about their own products. I have an old dv6458se which, according to HP, only supports a max of 2GB RAM. I have 3GB installed. I just need to update my sig to say that.

 

Well that clears that up. Newegg still sells a few SATA 150s:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&bop=And&ActiveSearchResult=True&Order=RATING

So my options are greater than those listed in the Newegg link up above? (rhetorical question)

So much for trusting HP parts department who are trying to steer me towards a $250 out-of-date HD that doesn't have the size requirement that I'm looking for.

I wasn't even aware of it until it was mentioned earlier in this thread. I thought the drives basically had their own G-Force protection built into them.

Are you talking about the "HP Mobile Data Protection System" driver? I can remove this through Control Panel?

Sorry for the question(s). I don't have the machine here at this location to look at. In fact, it will be a few days before I can take a crack at this.

Are they the one's you use? I think Western Digital uses something called ShockGuard™ which I guess is the same thing.

Not good, considering this machine is only two years old

Any followup would be most appreciated...

 

a fair number of drives now have internal 'drop' sensors so buying an HP-recommended drive and loading their special software to get this feature is no longer necessary.

 

Yes, I think you have some good options but you may have to work through a couple of hoops to get the result you seek.

1. Before you pull the old HDD out, make sure you have the latest BIOS installed on your unit. It’s been awhile, but I seem to remember there were some BIOS updates for units of that era that would allow larger hard drives. Just to be safe and to eliminate a possible trip point, update your unit to the most current BIOS.

2.
(a) If you are installing XP onto a SATA drive, you may have to make a SATA driver disk to use during the XP installation. When windows asks you if you have additional drivers you press F6 and direct it to the drivers on a USB floppy. If you don’t have a USB floppy you can also slipsream the drivers into an XP installation using nLite. The drivers are here: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...&swLang=8&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=ob-39535-1

(b) Some units BIOS also came with an option that would allow your unit with a SATA drive to act like a PATA drive circumventing all the crap in (a) above. Once you installed the OS you could then install the SATA driver through windows, reboot to the BIOS and select SATA, and then exit. Check your BIOS for this feature.

3. If you’re installing using an XP or XP SP1 disk, you will likely also run into the 127GB partition limitation. To get around the problem you may have to limit the initial XP partition install to 120GB or so. Once the install is complete you can then update XP to SP3 and then recover the remaining space to the primary partition using disk management or use the remaining space as a seperate drive. You could also just slipstream SP1, SP2, and SP3 (as required) onto a disk with nlite along with the SATA driver and get around the limitation all together.

Considering all the above, I think the limitations that HP gave you were for the unit as it was delivered. Basically the BIOS, HDD, chipset, and the OS all have to support large SATA drives and it probably did not when it was new. That said, if you don’t have a problem with any of the above work-arounds then I’d say you are safe to start shopping. 320GB seems to be the sweet spot for HDDs these days so that’s probably where I’d start. From there you just need to decide if you want a 5400 or 7200 RPM drive. Just be aware that there isn’t nearly as much difference in performance in the speed of the drives as there use to be. The Western Digital scorpio blue (SATA II, 5400 RPM, 3 YR warranty) and scorpio black (SATA II, 7200 RPM, 5 YR warranty) models get good reviews and look to be popular at Newegg so you might want to consider those but really any one of them will probably work fine running at SATA I on your system.

Install the drive and BOOT to the BIOS (F10). If your computer sees the drive (which it should), you’re in business. Steps 2 & 3 above are the slightly tricky parts if you have to do them but once you get those squared away all that should leave is the device drivers. After the OS install, I would then install the latest chipset, video, Microsoft UAA, and audio drivers in that order (be aware that if you install the audio driver prior to the UAA you will likely have issues with the sound). Before I pressed on with the remaining drivers I think I would then install the Data Protection Driver just to see if you have any problems and whether the folks at HP new what they were talking about.

If you have issues with the Data Protection, re-start the system in Safe Mode and uninstall the Data Protection driver either through control panel or the device manager and live with the “unknown device” in device manager. Another option would be to return the drive and get one that has the additional g-protection onboard the drive if you need it…. though you will still have an “unknown device” in device manager. Seagate is the ones I know of, but there may be others. http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/laptops/momentus/momentus_5400.6_g/

At any rate, as long as you can cope with 1,2,& 3 above during the XP install, I really don’t think you’ll have any problems….. though I’m not 100% positive about any possible limitations that HP could have imposed through their onboard Data Protection system. If there is an issue with the size of the drive however, you could also just use a 120GB primary partition and use the remainder as a secondary drive. This would put you back within what HP said was the limit. Last, you could also just eliminate the XP install issues by installing Vista or Win 7 if your unit will support it.

Hope this helps.

 

ALso u might wnat to kepe in mind SSD drives. They are more costly but much faster and dropping them wont do any harm (well unless its a really big drop like a out of a second floor window onto pavement or tile but even then it might work)

 

Also a very good option if you can stand the price and the limited HD space compared to conventional HHDs. Like the conventional drives however, it would also be restricted to SATA I performance on the NC6400, but would have essentially no g-shock limitations.

 

Yeah I already did that. In fact it was upgraded three times, which I thought was unusual considering I only had to update the BIOS once in my other machines. The last update I did was about 8 or 9 months ago.

Actually I was gonna do an Acronis Clone Image and use a SATA to USB powered connector I have. It's worked well in the past.

Would that be a problem?

Good to know should that come up

SP3 is already on there and will be included in the clone I will copy.

That's also good to know. The 5400 RPM looks to be slightly cheaper and the tradeoff will be that in runs cooler vs. the slight speed increase of the 7200 RPM. We're really talking about a business laptop and not a gaming laptop here, so I'm probably leaning towards 5400 RPM.

That may have to be done. I'm glad to know it's an uninstallable option in Control Panel.

That's fine. I believe I already have one in there for that buggy fingerprint reader I disabled.

As long as there's an easy way to uninstall it, as you say there is, then I'm not too concerned.

That's probably why HP said I couldn't install something larger. Either they didn't know about, or didn't want me to uninstall the onboard HP Data Protection System and wanted me to pay their ridiculous prices instead.

Well the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisory tool said it would, although it also said I needed to update the Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Integrated FlashMedia Controller and the Texas Instruments GemCore based SmartCard Controller. Since I don't use a smart card for this machine, I can ignore the latter, but I'm gonna need that FlashMedia Controller down the line. Do you happen to know if it's out yet?

I've Googled the issue and other people out there are looking for that FlashMedia controller for Windows 7, too.

It sure does.

 

Well then, sounds like you have a plan… and a couple of backup plans if you need them.

Cloning the drive would certainly be easier, but for some reason I’d gotten the idea that you wanted to do a fresh OS install…. stupid me!! At-any-rate, cloning also gives you the option to clone to one partition (the entire drive) or if you had to you could divide the drive into a couple of partitions (say 120GB + 175GB = total 295 usable or so) to get around HP’s stated 120GB limitation ( that we don’t think exist).

If you ran the Win 7 advisor and passed, you must have the ATI GPU? Win 7 is another good option then and you might be able to just use a Vista driver for the Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Integrated FlashMedia Controller. Seems like a lot of folks have success with Vista drivers when a specific Win 7 driver is unavailable.

I think you have it covered. Let us know how it goes and…. all the best.

 

yes. That's all it is.

 

HP, like most of the other manufacturers, will only support configurations that are officially tested and found compatible.

That sounds okay but the downside is that usually no new hardware is tested. Like in your case they say 2GB max (2x 1GB) is supported, if there was no 2GB sticks in the market when tested.

Same goes to hard drives. If biggest drive in the market was 200GB when laptop was brought to market and tested, then it's the biggest one the support personnel are allowed to say working.

Even if the personnel themselves test and find what works and what not they cannot say it as it would then be "the official statement" that some specific hardware works and then the hell breaks loose if in some situations it anyway fails (for example a bios update would be needed). Was the correct term Class Action Lawsuit?

I did work for Nokia support about one year, same thing applied to their hardware and software also. Cannot say anything, that wasn't available in written form in the intranet / Nokia's own website

 

LOL... Naw, don't beat yourself up over it. Sorry. I guess I should have been clear about it in the beginning. I'm running out of space at 80GBs, but I want to keep what's on there.

Well I hope it doesn't exist. I guess I'll find that out soon enough.

Yes it's an ATI 128mb graphics card. Not sure of the model number since I don't have the machine here.

That sounds like one less thing I have to worry about.

Wow, you'd think Texas Instruments would get on the ball about this. Win7 machines are now being released.

I sure will. Thanks for your help.

 

Well two good pieces of news.

a.) Looks like the HP Mobile Data Protection System 3D software isn't in Control Panel, which saves me the trouble of having to un-install it.

b.) I'm getting a free copy of Windows 7 Ultimate, the full version. Not the upgrade. 32bit only, though.

Which means I can either clone the old stuff to the new HD, or install Win7 from scratch onto the blank HD.

What would you all do? Constructive opinions, welcome.

 

Before I decided one way or the other (clone drive vs. Win 7 install), I think I’d run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor . It should let you know where you may have issues with software and, more importantly, drivers.

The Mobile Data Protection System software may be in Add/remove programs. You can also remove it through Device Manager/ System Devices.

Looking forward to hearing how the HDD swap goes….

 

Thanks. Already did that. The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisory tool said I needed to update the Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Integrated FlashMedia Controller and the Texas Instruments GemCore based SmartCard Controller. Since I don't use a smart card for this machine, I can ignore the latter, but I'm gonna need that FlashMedia Controller down the line.

Nope. I don't see it in Control Panel. I must not have installed it when I last imaged the machine.

 

Hmmm..... did you check in device manager. It should be listed there under "System Devices" as HP Mobile Data Protection Sensor... or something like that. Also, if you hadn't installed the software, I'd think that you would also have an unknown device.

As far as the card reader, you may be able to use a Vista driver.

 

The following have red x's through them

-HP Quick Launch Buttons

-Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabyte Ethernet Adapter

-Other Devices (these two have Yellow ? marks with red x's through them)
-Fingerprint Sensor
-Unknown Device

-System Devices - Infineon Trusted Platform Module (just a red x, no yellow question mark)

I don't see anything in there named "HP Mobile Data Protection Sensor" or just "Mobile Data Protection Sensor" under System Devices.

That doesn't necessarily mean it's not there, but I don't see it and I checked "Show Hidden Devices" under the view menu in Device Manager. It's possible it might be that "Unknown Device" under "Other Devices". Yes? No?

I never use the smart card reader on the side, but I will need that flash controller from Texas Instruments.

 

I used to own an nc6400 (even reviewed it here), and I have used the following hard drives in it (they all work with HP's DriveGuard, I've never come across a recent SATA hard drive that doesn't):
Western Digital Scorpio Blue/Black 320GB
Seagate Momentus 5400.3/5400.4/7200.2/7200.3/7200.4 250GB/320GB
Hitachi 7K200

Why do you need to get part numbers from HP? It originally came with a Seagate drive, the most common HDD used by HP for the nc6400 series.

You can use Vista drivers for Windows 7 on the nc6400, but most should be detected by default on Windows 7.

 

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...swLang=13&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=ob-74297-1

Would that work?

On my 8510w, HP Mobile Data Protection Sensor is located under System Devices in the Device Manager.

 

Yes, that's likely it. Try installing the driver that KLF pointed you to and see if the unknown device goes away. LOL.... you may have never installed it.

 

That's possible. I'll check it out.

But if I install a clean copy of Win7 Ultimate (full version, not the upgrade) on to a new blank HD instead of cloning my old drive, would this HP mobile protection driver really matter?

 

If your laptop has the Mobile Protection circuitry, even if you install Windows 7, you may still have the "unknown device" until you install the driver for it. I have seen a few posts where Windows 7 doesn't automatically find and install this particular driver.

 

If you perform any clean installs, you will have to reinstall the driver as the latest HP MDPS driver is not on Windows Update. You can download the driver from new HP notebooks and it will still work as the driver is backwards compatible (the DriveGuard technology has not actually changed since the nc6400).

 

Yeah, but I don't want it on my machine long term. Did you read back to the beginning of this thread?

If I put it back on, it will be temporary so I can have it show up in Device Manager so I know where I can go to disable it. Then I will uninstall it again through Control Panel.

If this software limits my ability to increase the size of my HD, then I don't want it on there. Besides most new HD manufacturers have this shock guard protection built into the drives themselves. Having this HP crap on there also makes it redundant.

 

GWT.... did you get a HDD yet?

 

There is no controller limitation to the amount of hard drive space you can get. Even the latest 640GB drives will work. Installing the MDPS driver will not limit this. When you install the MDPS, you can disable it from the Control Panel interface, so you do not have to do it via Device Manager. If you're going to disable it, why bother installing it in the first place?

In terms of device technical knowledge, NBR forums > HP reps, so trust us. Many of us have worked on these devices before, while the HP reps you have spoken with have not even seen the nc6400, nor even know what it is besides the information sheet they have in front of their screen.

 

While its true that most new HDDs do include some basic shock protection, it is generally not equivalent to what is additionally provided on your MB through the Mobil Data Protection system. To get the equivalent protection you would need an upgraded drive. Examples:

Seagate 5400.6 series
ST9500325AS - Is the current standard model without G-Force protection.
ST9500325ASG - Is the G-Force upgraded version. Note the "G" at the end of the model number.

Western Digital Scorpio Black series
WD3200BEKT - Is the current standard model without the “Free-Fall” sensor.
WD3200BJKT – Is the “Free Fall” sensor upgraded version. Note the "J" in the model number.

Shock Guard is what WD calls its basic shock protection and is included in both the Scorpio Blue & Black models. “Free Fall” upgrades are only available in the Black version and it is essentially what is included on the Seagate "G-Force" upgraded models and also what is included on your MB.

At-any-rate, if you want the additional HDD protection and do not what to pay more for a HDD, use the HP Data Protection System you have available. As I thought we’d concluded, and as Chrixx has kindly confirmed with first-hand experience, you shouldn’t have to worry about the bogus size limitation that HP gave you. It can’t be stated any clearer than that.

Get your new drive, install it, and either clone it or do the fresh Win 7 Ultimate 32 install. Personally, I think I’d give that free Win 7 disk you have a spin and start fresh….. but that of course is totally up to you.


…. and thanks Chrixx, KLF, Datamonger, Deeastman, and others for all the help with this one. The experience is certainly here, it’s just sometimes difficult for folks to distinguish the chaff from the wheat. Especially when the chaff comes from HP.

 

So what you're basically saying is I can have both the built-in HD protection and have the Mobile Data Protection system enabled? There shouldn't be any conflict?

I'll probably stick with Scorpio Blue. This is the type I'm looking at. 320GB @ 5400rpm

More specifically, it's located right here and the description does says it has Shock Guard and Secure Park.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136197

The ratings for it tend to be pretty high, both at newegg and at amazon.

As I questioned above, if both kinds of protection can be enabled safely without conflict, then I will be glad to use them both.

So much for assuming they know what they're talking about. Thanks.

I think I'm leaning that way myself. As you all mentioned earlier, I may have to use some Vista drivers for that.

 

I am more than happy with the Hitachi HTS723225L9A360 I put into my HP G70 (replacing the factory WD 160Gb drive).

At the time, it was one of the few 7200 rpm drives that showed a clear performance advantage over 5400 rpm drives. Besides being 'bigger, better, faster, cooler' it has it's own drop sensor which neither the factory WD drive or the notebook have. This drive is now in the middle of the pack for performance and most of the top-end drives have drop sensors too. Tech ever marches on.....

Lots of people would have gone for the 500Gb model, but I'm a firm believer in NOT having too much storage available in a laptop. It's way too tempting to carry everything you own and everything you are in a package that can easily be lost or stolen.

6 months in, around 10 hours of use a day, no problems.

 

Yes, the WD Scorpio Blue 320GB you have selected will work without issue. Here is how it will function:

- The Scorpio Blue model will provide the basic “Shock Guard” protection. This basic feature is not user selectable. It is built-in and always functioning.
- Provided you install the device driver, the HP Mobile Data Protection System incorporated into your motherboard will provide an additional level of HDD protection. This additional level is basically equivalent to what WD calls “Free Fall” and Seagate calls “G-Force”.

No, there is no conflict. These data protection systems augment one another. Note that the “Free Fall” and “G-Force” features are not standard HDD features and are only available on specifically equipped HDDs.

 

Ok, it's on order. I'll let ya'll know happens, thanks.

Also, I got the free Win7 Ultimate today so it looks like I'm gonna install it on the clean HD.

I reinstalled the XP driver for that motion sensor and it looks like that "Unknown Device" under Other Devices in Device Manager is now gone. lol...

And yes, the HP motion sensor driver now appears under System Devices. Not sure why it wasn't on there. I've had the machine for two years and have physically moved it around for quite a bit with no issues.

 

That’s too funny. Kind’a like looking for sunglasses on top of your head.

Now, while your waiting on your new drive, I’d do couple of things to prepare. First, write down all of the primary device drivers you’re currently running (Chipset, Graphics, Sound, NIC, Wifi, Quick Launch Buttons, Mobile Data Protection (LOL)….. etc.). This will give you a comparative reference point to find the “unknown devices” that may appear when the Win 7 install completes. Second, since you saved the big bucks on an HP supplied HDD and are moving to Win 7 32, you might want to consider adding a stick or two of RAM. According to Crucial your unit will support up to 4GB. You may not want to mess with the RAM stick that is under the keyboard but you could easily swap the 1GB stick that’s accessible from underneath the unit with a 2GB stick. This would give you 3GB to run Win 7 32bit …. and that’s all it will support anyway.

If you decided however that you wanted to just go ahead with 4GB, here is a nice how to:
http://www.insidemylaptop.com/remove-keyboard-replace-memory-hp-compaq-nc6400/

Once you get this thing up to speed, I’m guessing that you’re gonna be pretty pleased with it…. and yourself.

 

I know Everest was a good one a few years back, but they no longer support that (free) program.

So what kind utility is out there that I can run that can gather this information?

I might consider that. As long as the new 2GB ram stick has parity and shares the same clock speed as the 1GB stick currently under the keyboard.

Yup, that's my machine. Good to know, thanks.

 

#2 pencil + legal pad.

 

Naw, I ain't gonna do all that.

lol...

I'll stick with the Win7 upgrade Advisory tool and for any Win7 driver updates over at:

http://tinyurl.com/27ndku

I already see 1 new one over there already.

 

Try PC Wizard.

 

I still say a #2 pencil and a legal pad . Seriously though, the upgrade advisor (that you’ve already run) is a good starting point for the devices that Win 7 will not install but if you have any other “unknown devices” left when the install is complete, what then? You’re going to have to know what device drivers you’re missing and/or haven’t been installed. Perhaps there’s something out there (PC Wizard), but I’ve never seen any software that will reliably find all drivers for “unknown devices”. That’s why the checklist will help. It’s a simple checklist to clear unknown devices and to assure that all is as it should be. It doesn’t have to be complicated. This is usually all you need to check-off as you confirm/install devices and check functionality. In your case it would look something like this (cut/paste/fix/trash as required):

Intel Chipset (ICH7)
Intel Matrix Storage
Graphics (ATI)
Sound (ADI SoundMax)

NIC
Wireless
Bluetooth
Modem (if installed)

Touchpad (Synaptics)
Finger Print Reader (if installed)
Quick Launch/Quick Touch buttons
WebCam (if required or if not included in additional software)

Infineon Trusted Platform Module (?)
Smart Card (Ti GemCore based SmartCard Controller)
Card Reader (Ti PCIxx12 Integrated FlashMedia Controller)
HP Mobile Data Protection Sensor/3D DriveGuard/ProtectSmart (as required)

ENE Infrared (for remote if equipped)
TV Tuner (if installed)

DVD encoder (Not a device but must be installed for DVD playback)

Even if I don’t us a device, I still install the driver and then disable it if I don’t need it. Perhaps this is old school, the military way, stupid, or perhaps I’m just OC, but using this method I’ve rarely had a problem clearing unknown devices or assuring I have a complete and stable platform prior to moving on to other software installations.... and I do this fairly often for people. Anyway, however you do it, I hope we don’t see a “ I have an Unknown Device” post when you’re finished. If we do, I hope no one answers. LOL

PS. This took me 5 minutes.

 

Thanks!

 

I can find that stuff out, thanks.

My drive is still in the mail but once I install it, I'm probably going to have to install the drivers from scratch since I'm doing a clean install. Should I use the Vista drivers located here http://tinyurl.com/23bjsr after I do this inventory?

I actually don't use the following:

Bluetooth
Modem (if installed)

Finger Print Reader (if installed)
Quick Launch/Quick Touch buttons
WebCam (if required or if not included in additional software)

Infineon Trusted Platform Module (?)
Smart Card (Ti GemCore based SmartCard Controller)

ENE Infrared (for remote if equipped)
TV Tuner (if installed)

Not sure why I bother with any of that. I don't really care if any one of those appear as a yellow ? in Device Manager since I've already had a few in there for the last couple of years with no problem.

This is also why I don't like HP. They install this hardware crap by default whereas with Dells, they're optional.

 

Ah, here's what I've come up with so far:

2.33 ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
4096 kilobyte secondary memory cache

Main Circuit board:

Hewlett-Packard 30AC KBC Version 56.36
Bus Clock: 166 mhz
BIOS: Hewlett-Packard 68YCD Ver. F.0B 09/05/07 (the latest)

DVD drive: HL-DT-DVDRAM GSA-4083N [CD-ROM drive]
HD: ST980825AS

Controllers:

Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 family) Ultra ATA Storage Controllers - 27DF
Intel(R) 82801 GBM SATA AHCI Controller

Display:

ATI Mobility Radeon X1300 [Display Adapter]

Multimedia:

SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD Audio

Bus Adapters:

Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Cardbus Controller
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27C8
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27C9
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27CA
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27CB
Intel(R) 82801G (ICH7 Family) USB Universal Host Controller - 27CC

Communications:

Agere Systems HDA Modem

Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet
Intel(R) Pro/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection


Other Devices:
SMSC IrCC - Fast Infrared Port
Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft natural PS/2 Keyboard
Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad
Texas Instruments PCIxx12 Integrated FlashMedia Controller
SDA Standard Compliant SD Host Controller
Texas Instruments PCI GemCore based SmartCard controller
USB Root Hub (5x)

Does that help?

 

No probably to it. That said, if you do not use many of the devices and don’t want to install and then disable them, then don’t install them. You just may have a boat load of “unknown devices” which, in turn, can it make it much more difficult to track down driver issues (like the Mobile Data Protection Sensor..lol).

Excluding the ones you've said that you do not use and don't want to install, then install these after Win 7 completes (preferably the first 4 in this order). The Intel chipset drivers power the communications buses and if you don’t install these first you will have issues with other devices.

Intel Chipset (ICH7) (Get the most up to date from Intel)
Intel Matrix Storage (Get the most up to date from Intel)
Graphics (ATI) (Get the most up to date from ATI)
Sound (ADI SoundMax) (Get from HP for Vista…. Win 7 may update after installed)

Wireless (Intel Pro Wireless) (Get the most up to date from Intel)
NIC (Broadcom) (Get from HP for Vista…. Win 7 may update after installed)

Touchpad (Synaptics) (Get the most up to date from Synaptics)
Card Reader (Ti PCIxx12 Integrated FlashMedia Controller) (Get from HP for Vista…. Win 7 may update after installed)
HP Mobile Data Protection Sensor (Get from HP for Vista)

DVD encoder (Not a device but must be installed for DVD playback)
Since you are upgrading from XP to Win 7 your supplied encoder will likely not function and you’ll need to get one if you’d like to be able to play DVD’s on your unit. If not… no worries.

 

Won't most (if not all) of these update after I get them from HP for Vista?

And will this work?

http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/Ot...-F-Intel-Matrix-Storage-Manager-8901023.shtml

I use VLC player for DVD playback. Are we talking about something that needs to be installed before I install that?

 

VLC has built-in codecs, that's all you need.

Installing separate codecs would allow DVD playback with Windows Media Player. Actually I haven't tested if Win7 (or even Vista?) would support dvd playback out of the box

 

KLF…. once again, thanks for the backup. I should have said, to play DVDs through Windows Media Player or Media Center, you need the additional DVD codecs/encoder. If you use another player with incorporated codecs, then obviously you don’t. I’ve gotten so use to just using the media player in windows that I totally forgot to mention any other options. My bad…

As far as DVD playback support for Vista or Win 7 out of the box, neither support it. Actually, I wasn’t sure about Win 7 and Media Player 12 so I took a look at MS. Nope…. you still need to install a 3rd party codec.

See "What is a DVD Decoder?"
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Codecs-frequently-asked-questions

GWT…. you can install the Vista drivers from HP and Win 7 “may” update some, most, or all of them. I don’t know which. My thoughts however are that part of the benefit of doing a fresh install is to use the most current stuff and minimize the crap that other things leave behind in the file system and registry which can later cause issues. Experience with driver updates has also left me with the general impression that updating drivers through Windows Update (Win 98-Vista) can sometimes be a crap shoot. If you totally trust MS’s Win 7 update system (which I don’t) then go ahead. For me at least, going straight to the source or using the OS specific drivers from HP will always be a better option. Then again…. I also despise “unknown devices”, so I suppose it’s just down to whatever makes your boat float.