More HP Customer Service Woes.

Some of you might remember me from a few months back. Discovering that HP notebooks that shipped with the Xpress 200M chipset have a southbridge chip that causes MAJOR USB 2.0 speed problems.

I'm STILL fighting with HP customer support over that issue. I have no heard from my original case manager since the middle of July. Every time I call and speak to someone I get a new case manager who "promises" to take the case to a higher level.

Now I have a new problem. I've noticed that my battery life has gradually gotten worse. So over the last few days I've run several battery tests. When I first got this system in March, sitting at the system BIOS screen with full screen brightness, I was able to get 1 hour and 2 minutes worth of battery life. As of yesterday, after two tests, I was only able to get 47 minutes worth of battery life.

General use, using the "max battery" power settings, "optimal battery life" ATI driver settings, and the screen brightness set to minimum, I was able to get around 2 hours and 50 minutes of battery life. As of yesterday I was down to 2 and a half hours.

For DVD playback I use WinDVD7 with "Aggressive" memory usage settings and the max battery power setting. I don't use hardware acceleration (I found that it has a negative impact on battery life), and ATI's "optimal battery life" setting. I have always used the movie "Troy" as a test because of it's high bitrate and length. When I first had the system I was able to get over 2 and a half hours before the system would reach 3% and I would shut down. Now I am lucky to be able to get that to 2 hours and 19 minutes.

In HP Quickplay, when I first tested the system 7 months ago, I was able to play a movie for 2 hours and 15 minutes before it would shut down. The last time I tried it, it died at the 1 hour and 47 minute mark.

Keep in mind that throughout my testing I have always used a fresh installation of Windows, only the main drivers installed, ALL updates from Windows Update and the HP website, and all external cards (like TV tuners) and USB devices were disconnected. All software running in the system tray was disabled, and during movie tests, Wi-Fi was disabled. Before any testing, I let the battery run dead in the system BIOS and fully recharge. So that way the "fuel guage" was calibrated.

Now I've said all this to HP and I've shown them screenshots (as well as pictures of my screen taken with a digital camera to prove the screens were real) of the results from HP's "Battery Check". It clearly states that my battery has already lost 18% capacity. At it's current rate it is degrading at about 2.571% each month. By the time this system reaches the year old mark it will be up to just over 30% lost capacity.

Compared to my iPod mini, which is now 19 months old and has only lost 1% capacity, if that. It still comes in at just under 25 hours of playback time, compared to the 25 hours and few minutes it was able to last when I first bought it. My cheap portable DVD player I purchased from Wal-Mart nearly 33 months ago that was only rated at 2.5 hours of playback time still achieves 2 hours and 13 minutes of playback time before the screen shuts off and another 10 minutes of sound.

Oh, and I have not even used 50 cycles so far. Not directly through using it until it dies, or indirectly using partial cycles enough to equal 50 full cycles. Keep in mind that lithium-ion and lithium-polymer batteries are designed to retain 80% capacity after 400-500 cycles. With that in mind I should still be at less than 1% capacity loss. I have always run my system using the "max battery" setting and I have always used it on a hard surface with plenty of ventilation, AND I use compressed air (at HP's advice) to keep the vents clear and clean. Heat has never been an issue at all.

Now, I've already emailed HP multiple times about this. The response I have gotten? Emails explaining power settings and how I should use Hibernate to extend my battery life. Completely ignoring the screens from their own software showing the increased degradation of the battery. It's been several hours since I last wrote to them and I haven't even received and automated reply yet.

HP officially has the WORST customer support I have ever dealt with. It looks like I am going to call and fight over this issue as well. I just don't see how a company that has now overtaken Dell as the number 1 PC seller could treat their customers so poorly. I have never been rude to CS, I have never been angry. I have always been polite. So they have no reason to ignore me other than the fact that they treat their customers like complete ****

 

You can report them to the Federal Trade Commission. Their website is www.ftc.gov
You can file a consumer complaint over the internet. Even though it has a place to enter your social secuirty number you don't need to unless you're filing an identity theft complaint. Or you can call someone and talk to a person, I suspect that would speed up the process and have a higher chance of somehting getting done. There was this woman who had a problem with her interent provider. She had DSL and was getting 56k speed and they told her nothing was wrong with their equipment and she's still going to pay them, or suffer the early termination fee. She finally complained to the FTC and the service provider had to send an engineer out to find what was wrong. The service provider had to tear up the street and fix a faulty wire. I got that off of the web page she made herself telling how bad the certain provider was.

Here is the phone number for the Federal Trade Commission
For Consumer Complaints contact the Consumer Response Center:

By phone: toll free 877-FTC-HELP (382-4357); 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday;

By mail: Consumer Response Center
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Ave
NW, Washington, DC 20580

 

Wow thats awesome! That woman deserves a medal for actually getting a big telcom company to do something for the consumer.

I might have to file a complaint with the FTC. This is getting out of hand.

This system just has too many problems and HP refuses to do anything. I can live with the USB speeds. But I can't live with the sticky keyboard, the DVD drive not properly burning DVD-Rs, the DVD drive SCRATCHING discs, or the intergrated memory card reader randomly corrupting data on my memory cards.

And I certainly cannot live with the way the battery life is degrading so rapidly.

I finally received a reply from HP not too long ago and now they want me to hand over CC info to be able to swap the battery. I can't trust them with anything, quite honestly. NOt after the way they have treated me. So I told them that and we'll see how things go.

 

I thought that laptop batteries degraded MORE than 2.6%/month ?
The major killer is heat, laptops get hot, and a temp of 40c+ is enough to cause serious degradation for batteries.
Manufacturers wont even insure batteries for more than a year (even on policies which insure laptops for 4 years). they clearly expect serious battery degradation. This degradation holds even if you're constantly plugged into AC

 

Does pulling out the battery when plugged into AC help battery life?

 

Apparently the best way to store laptop batteries is to refrigerate them at about 40% charge... even if you're not refrigerating it (or discharging to 40%...), pulling the battery out while plugged in will at least get it away from the heat-generation of the laptop, which can only help.
In fact, I should start doing that.

 

If a lithium-ion or lithium-polymer battery is degrading that fast then something is definitely wrong. Unless you're leaving the system in a hot car, it shouldn't degrade that fast even under warm temperatures generated by the laptop. Infact, pop your battery out. Check out the information on it. It clearly says that it can handle temperatures of well above 40c. And I never let my system get that warm. Its always been used in an air conditioned room (During the summer) and I always make sure it is well ventilated. I even use the system on on the "max battery" setting when plugged into AC to keep the system running cool.

Not only that, but the battery in this laptop has already degraded about 18x more than my 19 month old iPod. So something is definitely wrong.

In the first year your battery shouldn't even degrade 10% unless you're leaving it in a hot car or using one or more charge "cycles" per day everyday.

And refrigerating a battery is silly. Because that can cause condensation, which in turn will destroy the internal electronics.

Store a battery at room temperature after running it down to 40% charge (from a full charge). At room temperature (you know, around 70F) it should be able to hold 80% capacity after 2 years of storage and no use.

Anyway, my case has been referred to a case manager. Great. I have to call tomorrow and see what they're going to do.

 

Well, refrigerating isn't silly for long term storage - of course, day to day it's a bad idea, but for long term (like a spare battery) put it in a ziploc bag and stash it in the fridge; condensation won't be a problem if you pull it out a day in advance and let it sit there inside the ziploc till it's nice and room-temperature.

Anyway, hope you get your problem fixed!

 

Li-ion battery info from a guy who knows what he's talking about:

About the Author
Isidor Buchmann is the founder and CEO of Cadex Electronics Inc., in Vancouver BC. Mr. Buchmann has a background in radio communications and has studied the behavior of rechargeable batteries in practical, everyday applications for two decades

http://www.batteryuniversity.com/index.htm



Lithium-ion batteries lose capacity through cell oxidation, a process that occurs naturally during use and aging. The typical life span of lithium-ion is 2-3 years under normal use. Cool storage a 40% charge minimizes aging. An aged lithium-ion cannot be restored with cycling. Lithium-ion is found in cell phones and mobile computing.

Lithium-ion has a slightly higher internal resistance than nickel-based batteries. The cobalt system tends to increase the internal resistance as part of aging whereas the manganese (spinel) maintains the resistance throughout its life but loses capacity through chemical reaction. Cobalt and manganese are used for the positive electrodes.

High internal resistance will eventually render the battery useless. The energy may still be present but can no longer be delivered. This condition is permanent and cannot be reversed with cycling. Cool storage at a partial state-of-charged (40%) retards the aging process.

How to prolong lithium-based batteries (BU34)

Battery research is focusing heavily on lithium chemistries, so much so that one could presume that all portable devices will be powered with lithium-ion batteries in the future. In many ways, lithium-ion is superior to nickel and lead-based chemistries and the applications for lithium-ion batteries are growing as a result.

Lithium-ion has not yet fully matured and is being improved continuously. New metal and chemical combinations are being tried every six months to increase energy density and prolong service life. The improvements in longevity after each change will not be known for a few years.

A lithium-ion battery provides 300-500 discharge/charge cycles. The battery prefers a partial rather than a full discharge. Frequent full discharges should be avoided when possible. Instead, charge the battery more often or use a larger battery. There is no concern of memory when applying unscheduled charges.

Although lithium-ion is memory-free in terms of performance deterioration, batteries with fuel gauges exhibit what engineers refer to as "digital memory". Here is the reason: Short discharges with subsequent recharges do not provide the periodic calibration needed to synchronize the fuel gauge with the battery's state-of-charge. A deliberate full discharge and recharge every 30 charges corrects this problem. Letting the battery run down to the cut-off point in the equipment will do this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate. (Read more in 'Choosing the right battery for portable computing', Part Two.)

Aging of lithium-ion is an issue that is often ignored. A lithium-ion battery in use typically lasts between 2-3 years. The capacity loss manifests itself in increased internal resistance caused by oxidation. Eventually, the cell resistance reaches a point where the pack can no longer deliver the stored energy although the battery may still have ample charge. For this reason, an aged battery can be kept longer in applications that draw low current as opposed to a function that demands heavy loads. Increasing internal resistance with cycle life and age is typical for cobalt-based lithium-ion, a system that is used for cell phones, cameras and laptops because of high energy density. The lower energy dense manganese-based lithium-ion, also known as spinel, maintains the internal resistance through its life but loses capacity due to chemical decompositions. Spinel is primarily used for power tools.

The speed by which lithium-ion ages is governed by temperature and state-of-charge. Figure 1 illustrates the capacity loss as a function of these two parameters.





Figure 1: Permanent capacity loss of lithium-ion as a function of temperature and charge level.
High charge levels and elevated temperatures hasten permanent capacity loss. Improvements in chemistry have increased the storage performance of lithium-ion batteries.

The mentioning of limited service life on lithium-ion has caused concern in the battery industry and I will need to add some clarifications. Let me explain:
If someone asks how long we humans live, we would soon find out that the longevity varies according to life style and living conditions that exist in different countries. Similar conditions exist with the batteries, lithium-ion in particular. Since BatteryUniversity bases its information on the feedback from users as opposed to scientific information derived from a research lab, longevity results may differ from manufacturer' specifications. Let's briefly look at the various living conditions of the lithium-ion battery.

The worst condition is keeping a fully charged battery at elevated temperatures, which is the case with running laptop batteries. If used on main power, the battery inside a laptop will only last for 12-18 months. I must hasten to explain that the pack does not die suddenly but begins with reduced run-times.

The voltage level to which the cells are charged also plays an important role to longevity. For safety reasons, most lithium-ion cannot exceed 4.20 volts per cell. While a higher voltage boosts capacity, the disadvantage is lower cycle life. Figure 2 shows the cycle life as a function of charge voltage.

Figure 2: Effects on cycle life at different float charge levels (Choi et al., 2002)
Higher charge voltages boost capacity but lower cycle life.



There are no remedies to restore lithium-ion once worn out. A momentary improvement in performance is noticeable when heating up the battery. This lowers the internal resistance momentarily but the condition reverts back to its former state when the temperature drops. Cold temperature will increase the internal resistance.

If possible, store the battery in a cool place at about a 40% state-of-charge. Some reserve charge is needed to keep the battery and its protection circuit operational during prolonged storage. Avoid keeping the battery at full charge and high temperature. This is the case when placing a cell phone or spare battery in a hot car. Running a laptop computer on the mains (on A/C power) has a similar temperature problem. While the battery is kept fully charged, the inside temperature during operation rises to 45°C (113°F).

Removing the battery from the laptop when running on fixed power protects the battery from heat. With the concern of the battery overheating and causing fire, a spokesperson for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission advises to eject the battery of affected laptops and to run the machines on a power cord. It should be noted that on a power outage, unsaved works will be lost.
The question is often asked, should the laptop be disconnected from the main when not in use? Under normal circumstances, it should not matter with lithium-ion. Once the battery is fully charged, no further charge is applied. However, there is always the concern is malfunction of the AC adapter, the laptop or the battery.

A large number of lithium-ion batteries for cell phones are being discarded under the warranty return policy. Some failed batteries are sent to service centers or the manufacturer, where they are refurbished. Studies show that 80%-90% of the returned batteries can be repaired and returned to service.

Some lithium-ion batteries fail due to excessive low discharge. If discharged below 2.5 volts per cell, the internal safety circuit opens and the battery appears dead. A charge with the original charger is no longer possible. Some battery analyzers (Cadex) feature a boost function that reactivates the protection circuit of a failed battery and enables a recharge. However, if the cell voltage has fallen below 1.5V/cell and has remained in that state for a few months, a recharge should be avoided because of safety concerns. To prevent failure, never store the battery fully discharged. Apply some charge before storage, and then charge fully before use.

All personal computers (and some other electronic devices) contain a battery for memory back up. This battery is commonly a small non-rechargeable lithium cell, which provides a small current when the device is turned off. The PC uses the battery to retain certain information when the power is off. These are the BIOS settings, current date and time, as well as resource assignment for Plug and Play systems. Storage does shorten the service life of the backup battery to a few years. Some say 1-2 years. By keeping the computer connected to the main, albeit turned off, a battery on the PC motherboards should be good for 5-7 years. A PC should give the advanced warning when battery gets low. A dead back-up battery will wipe out the volatile memory and erase certain settings. After battery is replaced, the PC should again be operational.

Longevity of high-power lithium-ion
Generally speaking, batteries live longer if treated in a gentle manner. High charge voltages, excessive charge rate and extreme load conditions will have a negative effect and shorten the battery life. This also applies to high current rate lithium-ion batteries.

Not only is it better to charge lithium-ion battery at a slower charge rate, high discharge rates also contribute the extra wear and tear. Figure 3 shows the cycle life as a function of charge and discharge rates. Observe the good laboratory performance if the battery is charged and discharged at 1C. (A 0.5C charge and discharge would further improve this rating.)

Figure 3: Longevity of lithium-ion as a function of charge and discharge rates.



A moderate charge and discharge puts less stress on the battery, resulting in a longer cycle life.

Battery experts agree that the life of lithium-ion depends on other factors than charge and discharge rates. Even though incremental improvements can be achieved with careful use of the battery, our environment and the services required are not always conducive to achieve optimal battery life. The longevity of a battery is often a direct result of the environmental stresses applied.

Simple Guidelines

* Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.) Short battery life in a laptop is mainly cause by heat rather than charge / discharge patterns.

* Batteries with fuel gauge (laptops) should be calibrated by applying a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges. Running the pack down in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate and in some cases cut off the device prematurely.

* Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.

* Consider removing the battery from a laptop when running on fixed power. (Some laptop manufacturers are concerned about dust and moisture accumulating inside the battery casing.)

* Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing dates. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.

* If you have a spare lithium-ion battery, use one to the fullest and keep the other cool by placing it in the refrigerator. Do not freeze the battery. For best results, store the battery at 40% state-of-charge.




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Where do you think I got that information from? I found that on another site a loooooooong time back before I had any devices with lithium batteries.

Time for me to call HP and see what kind of BS they give me!

Oh, and the 2-3 year lifespan is definitely inaccurate. A good majority of 1G iPods that are now 5 years old are still running on the same battery that can still maintain a charge that is very close to the original 10 hour rating.

And my fiance had one of the first iBooks to ship with a lithium battery and it still maintains its charge after all these years too.

 

Waiting on hold all this time is fun.

Finally got through to someone. Now shes trying to tell me that this is normal. Riiight.

 

I could pull my hair out right now! My case is being handled with my original case manager! What kind of BS is this? HP Has the WORST customer support EVER. If this isn't isn't resolved TOMORROW I am reporting them to the FTC and the BBB in Silicon Valley as suggested to someone else in another thread. This is ridiculous.

 

Whatever you said on the battery life on the Ipod, but remember an Ipod isn't a laptop and the gentleman that wrote the above has 20 years experciance in the battery business, plus has a company that makes chargers, battery testing equipment http://www.cadex.com/about_history.asp and his company has several patents on such.


http://www.cadex.com/


US patent 6,778,913
Multiple model systems and methods for testing electrochemical systems

A method for testing an electrochemical system includes obtaining complex impedance data for the electrochemical system at multiple frequencies; fitting the complex impedance data to two or more models of the system to obtain a set of fitted parameters; and deriving a value for a characteristic of the electrochemical system based upon parameters of the set of fitted parameters. The electrochemical system may be an electrochemical battery. The characteristic may be a state of health, state of charge, or other characteristic of a battery.

BulletView Patent Details

Cadex Electronics Inc. applied for global rights on US patent 6,778,913.

US patent 7,019,542
Low frequency method and apparatus for battery testing

A method for testing electrochemical cells applies to a portion of a cycle of a low-frequency excitation waveform to a cell under test while maintaining an amplitude of the excitation waveform below a threshold value. In some cases a quarter cycle of the excitation waveform is used. Phase and amplitude of a response to the excitation waveform may be determined by applying formulae based on geometry.

BulletView Patent Details

U.S. Patent 7,072,871
Fuzzy logic method and apparatus for battery state of health determination

A system for determining the state-of-health of batteries has an adaptive component. The system tests a battery by measuring a number of electrochemical parameters and using fuzzy logic to compute a state-of-health for the battery. The fuzzy logic computations are based upon membership functions, which are preferably triangular. The membership functions may be stored in a matrix. The adaptive component adapts the system for use with new models of battery by obtaining a reliable measurement of SoH for a number of calibration batteries. Electrochemical parameters of the calibration batteries are measured. The adaptive component modifies a prototype matrix selected to match the chemistry type of the calibration batteries by scaling, translating and flexing its membership functions to achieve a matrix, which specifies membership functions suitable for assessing state-of-health of the new model of battery.


PS: You're welcome for the above info. I was providing it to you for you to use in your fight against HP.

 

Ipod batteries last 10+hrs/charge => the drain on them is much lower than that on laptops => heat generated is lower => lower temp => longer battery life

 

I've kept my battery cool the entire time I've used it. The system has always been set in a manner where it is well ventilated and cool. It actually says on the battery that it can handle operating temperatures of up to 60c (140f). So the slight warmth experienced while using the system (seldomly) using it as a portable computer. While not using it portably I have taken it out. The battery also charges very fast. Roughly 2.5 hours to full charge. So heat has never been an issue with my system. It's also always only been used in an air conditioned room.

My iPod is 19 months old. I use it for at least 4-5 hours everyday and charge it every night. I go through a cycle at least every few days. It's safe to say that I have probably gone through 100 cycles so far. At least 3 times more than I can realistically say I have gone through with this laptop. I've also used it outside for hours on end during two desert summers where heat rose above 110f on many occasions. There have been plenty of times where it was warm to the touch, and yet it still goes on at nearly 100% original capacity. Best piece of electronics I ever bought!

My portable DVD player also still has very high capacity, reaching 2 hours and 15 minutes of a rated 2.5 hours. It's 3 years old and it definitely gets hot when charging or even playing back. Not something that can be used on your lap at all.

But yeah, thanks for that info. We'll see what happens tomorrow. I'll be calling bright and early so "Roy" can't make any excuses about having to run things by his supervisor or anything like that, like he has in the past.

 

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By the above post in which you explain that you pull the battery out while on a/c power, etc it sounds like you have a bad battery (or somethings amiss in the charging /battery level circuit)


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Well, guess what!? No call yet! Surprise Surprise! More GREAT customer support coming from Case Manager Roy Herrera.

 

Chill dude...call them back and be nice about it. No case manager is going to help you out if your rude and yelling.

POLITELY ask this case manager to either fix the issue (preferably before the call is done) or transfer you so someone who can.

From what I'm seeing, the only problem here is that the south bridge of the laptop might be interfering with USB 2.0 functionality. That battery issue is going to get you nowhere; most batteries DO degrade over time. iPods or other devices might not degrade as quickly... but they are made differently. In any case most batteries are classified as a "consumable" and thus not covered by warranty (unless there is a complete failure...like yesterday it worked and today it doesn't).

I'm also going to suggest you back up your data, recover the factory installation on the laptop, and try some USB2 devices that don't require ANY other software to run (other than a driver for a USB stick of whatnot). If it still doesn't work, it might be a hardware issue...but I'm going to guess that it would be a flaw in the manufacturing that hit very few laptops.

 

Trust me on the USB issue. I did everything possible to test the speed. The as far as transferring over USB, regardless of the device, the USB 2.0 speeds are literally HALF of what my desktop PC is capable of. This is espicially sad when my iPod mini peaks at about 6MB/sec and the laptop is barely capable of sustaining 3MB/sec. Theres other devices it has problems with as well (such as my HP Photosmart 475 printer).

As for the battery, NO battery should degrade that fast. None. If HP is selling batteries that are designed so poorly than they should be held responsible and be forced to give every customer who wants one a refund. I'm sorry but when you pay a few hundred, or even a couple thousand, dollars for something there should be nothing "consumable" about it. The battery should be well built and fully covered by warranty. Apple takes care of their customers, why can't HP?

As I said in another post, my fiance's iBook that is 5-6 years old (can't remember, she had it before we met) still retains a 3 hour charge. Her half decade old system that was used very heavily everyday still retains more charge than my 7 month old system. No 7 month old battery, unless left in a car everyday, should lose that much life so quickly. I take care of it. I use it just a couple of times per week (if that) and I never leave it in the system when it is connected to AC power and not charging.

Anyway, I finally got HP to take care of my problems. The box is on it's way. They're supposedly going to fix my keyboard, replace my DVD drive so it no longer scratches discs (and can hopefully finally properly burn DVDs), fix my memory card reader/PCMCIA controller that randomly corrupts memory cards, and check out my USB problems.

 

Ouch. Personally, it think it would be easier if they just gave you a new unit. That is a lot to be fixed, and I would not be surprised if you got the lappy back with most of the issues still present.

 

Replace motherboard (USB, PCMCIA issue), DVD drive, and your good. They don't have to get another chassis and screen built up, or a new hard drive, etc, etc.

If it doesn't work this time I would ask for a new unit...perhaps one without that southbridge (they will sometimes exchange for another model in severe cases). Just keep bringing the problem up if it doesn't get fixed...they will eventually have to replace it if you do.

 

for what it's worth, the only experience I've had with HP support was awesome..

within 2 minutes I was talking to someone who totally knew my machine and was actually listening to my concerns very kindly. A+.

 

Well, I received the box today and sent it out today. FedEx puts the delivery sometime before 3:30 local time.

Hopefully everything comes back okay. We'll see though.

 

Good luck...please post how it turns out!

 

I definitely will. I'm hoping HP finally makes me a satisfied customer.

On another note, I'm seriously considering using Firefox + add blockers when I come here. Wow! too many ads!

 

Its not all that bad...and it's how this site manages to stay up and continually pay for the reviews we do!

 

Well, they received it about 15 hours ago. Let's see how long it takes them to get it back to me.

 

Well, my system should be back in my hands in a few hours. Let's see what happens.

 

Well, I got it back. FedEx showed up and delivered it. The guy tried to play dumb "it seemed like nobody was here" uh huh..

Anyway, two good things. They replaced my DVD drive. Now I don't have to apply a major amount of force to the button to open the DVD drive. It pops open just by touching the button. Can't tell yet if it's going to scratch discs or not. But it's safe to assume that it's fine.

The keyboard was also completely replaced too. So far so good it seems with that.

But it appears they didn't replace my battery. My new case manager, someone who finally speaks English as a first language, said if it's the same battery she'll send me a new one without any hassle. But to try it and see. She couldn't see where they said they replaced it and all the serial numbers are still the same. Seeing as how shes the first helpful person I have spoken to at HP, I'll actually give it a shot just to see.

 

Just in case anyone is following this thread, is interested in how claims /repairs are handled, is looking for "tips' when trying to get something swapped out, repaired, etc here's the updated info on this thread:

HP is replacing the battery...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=85640



Do have a request from the OP, would you please take a few moments to edit the thread(s) with the chipset you're talking about...

Addtionally in one of your other threads I read the problem was only with the Ipod, other devices working properly. Is this correct?

 

Oh yeah I forgot to come back here and post my final update.

I received my battery today. Before HP had even updated their system to show it was shipped. I had to give my new case manager the return tracking number as it wasn't even showing as shipped in her computer. My battery life is back to where it should be. I haven't had the chance to completely test it out (such as Quickplay or sitting at the system BIOS screen) but I ran DVD in Windows. Using WinDVD7, "max battery" power profile, WinDVD set to "aggressive" memory usage, playing the movie "Troy" it lasted for just a few seconds shy of 2 hours and 45 minutes. That's not until dead, just to the 3% mark where WinDVD cuts off and Windows starts to complain at me. I would have probably gotten another couple of minutes out of it if the movie hadn't ended and I had not had to skip back a few chapters to get it going again.

So heres a list of the problems that were fixed:

Battery was failing. HP replaced that, however, they didn't replace it when the notebook was sent in for repairs. That was shipped out to me and required me to make another trip into another town to the closest FedEx location to drop the box for the return shipment.

DVD drive was scratching discs and imporperly burning DVD-Rs (visible color banding as well as not being readable by most devices where the color banding occured). DVD drive was replaced and upgraded to a DVD-RAM drive with all of the same capabilities as my previous drive as well as the obvious new ability to write DVD-RAM discs. The original drive also had issues with the eject button. Sometimes I had to apply large amounts of pressure to get it to open.

Keyboard issues similar to those of a lot of other DV8000/5000 series systems. Keyboard was replaced and so far so good (using it right now).

Problems that persist:

USB speed issues. It wasn't just my iPod. I noticed it first with the iPod. I was trying to sync my iPod with this system, because after I had owned it for 3 months and I was using it more than my desktop I figured why not just sync my iPod with it? When the syncing failed, I noticed something was wrong. After troubleshooting (and reinstalling Windows several times with many different software/driver configurations) and testing with my other USB external hardware, it was determined that the SB400 southbridge chip manufactured by ATI is the culprit of the problems. I can sync my iPod now, but at half the speed of my desktop. Moving files over USB 2.0 (such as moving pictures to the internal HDD of my HP Photosmart 475 printer) also works at half the speed of my desktop. This problem persists and it is unlike HP will fix it because the only way to fix it is to replace the chipset with something new. And that means replacing the notebook. It's unlikely HP cares that much about customer satisfaction.

Memory card reader randomly corrupts memory cards. I complained about this problem to HP numerous times. It's only happened about 4 times in the entire time I have owned the system. And when it does happen the cards are still readable by the cameras. So it's not THAT big of a deal. However, as it is random, HP was unable to reproduce the problem and didn't fix it.

PCMCIA controller is not fully compatible with cards that require the controller to be completely up to spec. My Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook crackles and pops at anything that requires high amounts of bandwidth. HP and Creative point fingers at eachother, and I am more inclined to believe Creative in this case because of the fact that it took several months for HP to finally service my system after having multiple issues and the issues I am having with the soundcard are basically what happens when a PCMCIA controller isn't fully up to spec.

The intergrated headphone out has severe clipping issues when it has to drive any headphones that require even the slightest amount of power. It also has clipping issues when the "Wave" volume in Windows (or the volume in other apps, such as WMP or iTunes) is set to max (but not the main volume control). HP supposedly found no problem here.

The ATI drivers have issues with color depth. If I use the "Powerplay" settings in the drivers and set that to "optimal battery life" then shut down the system, unplug it from AC power, and restart on battery power...... then shut down on battery power and plug back into AC power, the color depth will be stuck at 16-bit color until I completely uninstall the drivers and reinstall them. It doesn't matter if I change the color depth in Display Properties, the display is locked at 16-bit until I wipe the drivers and install them fresh. This doesn't happen if I plug back into AC Power while the system is running (which I can't imagine is safe, nor can I imagine myself running frantically looking for an outlet if I am using the system on battery power while out and about).

And the final issue I have is that the (at the time) $150 ExpressCard TV Tuner doesn't have appropriate drivers to run outside of Media Center. Applications that generally work with most TV tuners, like Nero for video capture or Dscaler for real-time video deinterlacing, don't function with this TV tuner. No software besides Media Center does. I think for the outrageous cost it should have proper WDM drivers to work outside of Media Center.

Thats about it.

I'm happy my DVD drive works and doesn't scratch discs.. and that I can finally open it. I'm happy my battery is where it should be for a 7 month old PC. I'm happy I can finally use the keyboard without having to backtrack every few letters and retype what I was trying to say.

I'm still not a fully satisfied customer and I probably never will be. While I like HP printers, I will most definitely never buy another HP PC (or any Windows PC) ever again. I had wanted this PC to last me for a few years. But because of the persisting problems (and the fact that Windows Vista is nothing more than XP with transparency turned on and a crapload of nag screens), I'll be buying a Mac shortly after OS 10.5 is released. This system isn't a total loss though. I'll be buying a nice LCD screen in the future that has both HDCP-certified DVI and VGA inputs. This will make a nice DVR and DVD player for the VGA input, while a PS3 will go nicely into the HDCP DVI input.

 

beachesandmusic,

Lots of good info there that I bet will keep someone else from pulling their hair out...

BTW: What model /sub-model does all this pertain to?

If you would, would you please take a few monents to edit the first post with the info so it shows up real well..(maybe at the very top? in BOLD print). and if you've got time provide a link to the posts to the background on the problems you've been having.
(cross link the posts)

Sure it will help someone that's doing a search..


Glad to hear you got your battery, post back in a few months an update...

 

Well. I have owned my dv8130us since 15 aug. I am sending in for repairs. I dont have near the problems you guys are having. It seems to function just fine except sound volume is low for movies,videos and music probably doesn't play as loud as it should. Finally I had enough after showing some people a few vid clips this weekend, they said turn it up, I said it is! so I updated bios drivers, updated quickplay, updated sound driver. Called hp they said do Windows repair.HA! waste of 4 hours! Right now I am pulling an Image from it with ghost, like hell I will spend 4 hours reinstalling stuff. I have been wondering about the usb issue. I havent tested the speed, but I like to use my cell phone to access the net from time to time. sometimes it doesnt see the cellphone, however it will see it everytime I put it in transfer mode, thats to files on it but you cant connect to the net with it in that mode. My zv5160 see the phone everytime. its a sony erricson w600 btw. ANyway I hope they can correct this issue, they were very helpful with my zv5160.