New: Those receiving their E 14s with Radiance: how goes?

Although I started the "I didn't get my order canceled but when my Envy with Radiance arrived: DISASTER!" thread, I think we need a more straightforward thread not linked to my freak-out one or to the "Canceled Order" threads, but one for people to report on deliveries received, condition./operation of the product and, if there are problems, how Cust Support/Tech Support is handling it, given that they allegedly do not have the normal option of replacing a defective unit with a Radiance screen.

Update: I just got a call from Tech. Support indicating that they received my returned unit with the bad Radiance screen (they sent the box to me priority overnight and the return label was priority overnight) and that it was on track to be repaired and returned in 4-6 days. Don't jump out of your seat: that was without anyone looking at the unit and determining if a new screen is needed (it is) and then, and only then, will the reality of getting a replacement screen - anytime soon - will be known.

 

I have my Envy and I like it alot. I just got it on 1/27/11. It works great, there is some very minor keyboard flex on the right side around the "J" "K" "L" buttons, but it is very minor and only noticable if you looking out for it. Everything else about the unit is perfect.

It sucks that some got their orders cancelled but we all knew it was in short supply. It also sucks that your was defective, but I am happy to hear they are fixing it. I hope it returns and has everything you ordred on it.

I plan on doing a clean install, but have never done one before, so I am a little nervous. There are some great guides on this website and when searching for guides there are plenty online.

To sum it up, the envy is exactly what I wanted from a laptop; very sturdy design and materials, the new windows OS, and great all around specs.

 

Mine's still in production but I'm glad they have a replacement for u. Cant wait to get mine!!

 

Please let me know if they can repair your laptop with another radiance screen.

I'm a student and really hesitating to send mine in for repair in fear of losing my radiance screen - having it "repaired" with a brightview.

 

Congrats to you on getting a good unit! I cannot yet say that they are going to be replacing my defective Raidance screen until I receive word they have it "on the bench" and have a screen to replace it with.

As for clean installs, particularly with HP consumer models, I have read many an expert opinion that it is better to uninstall the bloatware than to do a clean install. In particular, or so I'm told, finding all the drivers you need may be problematic. The argument against clean installs was that you will spend more time hunting down obscure drivers and programs and will not have all functions working during that time than if you just invest the time in uninstalling all unneeded programs. Worth looking into. Also have read that speed, heat and battery life gains from clean installs are exaggerated.

 

100% correct!!! Everytime I get my HP laptop from Costco, I just go to control panel and get rid of junk programs, like Norton (for Norton you need to download the Norton removal tool from Norton's own site), Microsoft student/trial word/powerpoint (I have my own), various addons on the internet explorer bar, etc....

Otherwise, there really isn't much bloatware to delete, not like the days of old...lol. HP is pretty good these days, limiting bloatware...so no worries.

After deleting unwanted programs I just go to start, type msconfig in the run bar, click the startup tab, click disable all. The only ones I like to keep on my toolbar on bottom is my free AVAST home edition anti virus, and synaptic pointing device since I like to use a mouse and to disable the touch pad once a mouse is detected. Love it that way.

Hope my suggestions help some people out.

 

The thing is I like the volume bar that appears when I use the keyboard short cuts. I have been reading up on the bloatware and I started uninstalling some of it, I just want to make sure I don't uninstall one their programs I like.

And yeah, finding drives makes me worry that the laptop may never been 100% since I would probably get fed up with looking for the right driver after a while.

 

I think, somebody please correct me if I'm wrong, all the drivers are in the c:\swsetup folder by default. You could make a backup and use it on the clean install.

 

Got mine today and did a fresh install right away thanks to the driver thread. Seems to be running great. The sound with my sony earbuds is amazing. Still getting used to it.

Had my idiot moment, couldn't get a dvd r out of the slot drive so took the whole thing apart. Put it back together and hit the eject button and it popped right out.

 

Just got mine today....Perfect condition...A+ all around....I am kind of a noob though and am curious if anyone could let me know what I should use to protect the computer from spyware/virus'......I've used free AVG in the past. Anyone offer a lil help? I'm in love with this baby and want to make sure nothing happens.

 

Microsoft Security Essentials is your friend. It is free, and Microsoft Updates will constantly update it for you.

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

 

Mine arrived last Friday. One stuck pixel (blue, quadrant IV of the screen), but it's basically impossible to notice except on a solid black background such as during POST, so I'm not worried about it. Past that, things seem to be going great with it. Did a clean wipe (forgot to backup the swsetup directory), but with the help of the drivers thread everything's in working order.

 

I received one order, second one is delayed (even though it was ordered the day after)... I have a chip on my touchpad... I am dissapoint.

 

Please do tell us in this thread how it went!

I also plan to have my Envy's screen replaced, and don't know if they have any spare ones. Since I don't live in the US, I'm afraid I'd have to wait for ages just for them to tell me there's none left. Their telling you there are replacements available would greatly lift up my spirits

 

Thanks Strike.

 

While I am on the subject, CCleaner is another good supplement program that can help you clean up your registry, more efficient uninstallation management and do secure deletion.

Piriform - Download

Download CCleaner. It is free as well.

 

Thanks KJ I am glad to hear that my information was correct. I've heard it more than once, but the vast majority of users seem to think a clean install is the "gold standard," so it is an uphill climb to advocate the alternative approach. I find it especially frustrating when people assert that a clean install and the removal of bloatware programs from the hard drive will speed your computer, when it is their activation, at startup or other times that effects performance. With a Core i7 quad or even somewhat lesser cpu and a 7200 rpm HDD or an SSD, the presence of 10 GB or less of programs merely sitting on your hard drive is not going to have any effect whatsoever on that machine's performance. The idea of a clean install is appealing, in that you start from scratch and only install programs and drivers you think you want and need, but therein lies the issue, as others wiser than I have explained it. Unless you are quite knowledgeable as to which programs and drivers are essential to an HP model's core services to run properly, you often end up with some important services rendered non functioning because certain arcane programs or drivers that were part of the factory load are missing and are not well understood to be necessary for a particular model's functionality.

But I do want to ask you about one thing you said:
" After deleting unwanted programs I just go to start, type msconfig in the run bar, click the startup tab, click disable all. The only ones I like to keep on my toolbar on bottom is my free AVAST home edition anti virus, and synaptic pointing device"

Are you saying that you can disable ALL of the dozens of programs that normally populate the startup tab in msconfig and not run into any operating problems? What I typically do is go in and disable those I know I don't want activated at startup - including many that I use, but don't want clogging the works unless I manually invoke them for use - often googling the ones I am not sure about - and frequently I find a program I am about to disable will kill off functionality it want, eg, a fingerprint reader. Could you clarify how it works to disable virtually 100% of the startup programs? I'm wondering if perhaps when you do that and reboot, the OS will re-enable those start up programs that are essential for basic operations, but that still leaves examples like my fingerprint reader - which some people don't use and would prefer to be disabled; an OS can't "know" which features you want activated at startup and which you don't. I'm really glad this subject came up, though it might seem tangential to this thread - which I actually started! I think it fits the topic because it addresses getting optimum performance from your Envy, provided you were fortunate enough to receive one free of defects. I'll address that issue in my next post.

 

I wish I had better news to report. It's not terrible, just extremely frustrating. One of the calls I made when I first discovered that my Radiance was defective apparently landed in some "high" place and on 1/31 I got a call from "Case Management," saying my case had been "escalated" and they would look after it. Regrettably, my case manager is far less effective than most of the standard Tech Support people are. For the last 3 days I have asked him to get the most basic questions answered:

1) Can I be assured that there is a Radiance display - somewhere in HP's warranty inventory - that will be shipped to the repair center to install in my computer?

2) What is the expected time frame for this to happen?

My CM is 0/2 on those questions over 3 days. He is also only 1/3 on returning my phone calls - something he told me was a benefit of having a case manager: "a direct phone number to call anytime." Not only does he not return my calls, but he makes commitments to make inquiries and call me, but doesn't. I get the feeling that this Case Management group are isolated somewhere in Canada and have no greater access to information than a first line Tech Support Agent and, in my case, far less zeal to come to the aid of a customer. (Despite what others say, I have found HPs Customer Support and Tech Support to have improved so much over the past 12 months that I would rate them as excellent compared to other manufacturers; I have had nearly 100% success getting quick, efficient service on numerous occasions for the 12 HP computers I own for personal or business use.)

Thus far, I cannot express any optimism that this is going to happen the way we would all hope. The queasy feeling I have is that the longer it drags out that no one can answer those two basic questions about whether and when my Radiance display will be replaced with like kind, the less likely it is to occur.

I will keep updating this. If anyone is in a similar situation, please post your experience trying to get this repaired.

Thanks.

 

I'm thinking that since there is still stock of the Radiance screen in the HP Parts store, at the very worst you could request they send you one of those for free.

 

what this does is simply prevent all those icons from populating the bottom of your taskbar. Yes, Windows seems to be "smart enough" that when you boot up, essential programs do load up. Let's say you have Yahoo Messanger installed. You know how it will automatically want to load and log you into chat at bootup. Well, that of course is not an essential program, so I uncheck it. Yahoo is a program I want to open up only when I want to use it, not before then.

As to the fingerprint reader.... I unchecked all boxes and it still works, so its one of those smart programs that start up even if you don't check mark it. I did not guess on my own, I called up Costco Coneierge or HP, one of those, and they explained to me that all needed programs will run fine, its just not going to show up on your desktop taskbar....and those like Yahoo won't burden your system on startup if you uncheck it.... Anyway, it works great and fast.

On a side note..... I've heard how if you install too much on your HD it will suffer performance wise. Not sure what the right number is, but I've heard for optimal performance you should leave at least 30% unused HD space...if I'm wrong maybe someone can chime in.


KJ

 

I personally use and installed for my company (I'm the IT guy) Microsoft Security Essentials. Some may argue its not the best option, but for me it works great.

For spyware you might want to checkout Spybot Search and Destroy or Ad-Aware. Both of these and Security Essentials can be had for free.

 

Pretty much sums up my experience to a tee. I didn't even notice the same keyboard flex on mine until I tried to push down hard after reading this post. I am a touch typist and cannot see how anyone could possible notice that small amount of flex without pounding they keys.

I did a minimal restoration after creating my recovery disks and then deleted most of the HP Media smart stuff. Things are running great.

Perhaps I am lucky. But I love my Envy and couldn't be happier for getting a machine like this for less then $1K.

 

After i saw you guys mentionning it, I also have a slight flex around JKL keys.
I would have never noticed it.
I guess that's how the laptop is designed. Something below these keys has a little room to play.

 

Thanks KJ. I'm looking forward to [first setting a restore point!] and then trying this out. As for the HD, I'm sure you're right about speed effects when it is near capacity, but let's face it, the most bloatware I've ever seen is around 10-15GB. As a practical matter, that will not ever make a noticeable diff. on a Quad core laptop with 8GB and a 500-750 7200 rpm HD, much less an SSD (though since they are small, you really do have to trim the fat unless it is a second drive, for OS and key programs only.

I'll try it and report back. Faster, cooler and more battery life is always better. Once again, I do suggest that others planning a clean install try this method first. Owners of the DV8, a high performance notebook in the vein of the Envy, found that they had to search and trial/error all over the place to get certain functions back after a clean install, but could get the same benefits by manually removing bloatware and, I would now add, going into msconfig and unchecking automatic startup for any programs you want available, but not always on. If someone thinks this is incorrect, please say so. I am quoting others, not claiming "exptertise."

 

Can you possibly give me a part number or link? I can't find them listed. Thanks.

 

Anyone else's radiance screen have a red tint? Compared to my Macbook Pro it looks much redder.

 

Mine doesn't seem to have a red tint, but then again I'm not putting it side by side with another laptop display. My rainbow color blob is slowly starting to fade away and is just about gone. Can't believe no one else had this issue!

 

just got mine this morning, the keyboard doesn't fit very well, edges are little bended~ but doesn't affect my daily usage, just looks a bit weired

 

Here is a pic of my screen:




Water instead of looking blue looks purple.

 

indeed it does, have you tried to tweak the color settings ?

I thought I had a reddish hue at first but it seems it went away (I have several screen I compare with).

 

Can you post an image of your desktop with the same wallpaper?

 

I just got mine yesterday and it's perfect! The display is simply gorgeous and I haven't had any problems so far.

 

Thankfully, this has not been my experience. I did a clean install which took me about 15 mins and installed all the drivers in just ~5mins. I got most of the drivers I needed from the HP support page and fortunately, the only two obscure devices that I couldn't seem to find anywhere on the page had drivers available from Windows Update.

I've noticed that HP usually provides all necessary drivers sorted by product type on their support pages so I never worry too much when I wipe a HP laptop clean.

 

I am not yet having a good experience with my envy14. After dodging the radiance cancellation issue, I received a notebook last night. When I tried to boot it this morning, it told me no boot device was available. That's curious.

The system diagnostics available through the boot menu cheekily say "Hard disk not exist."

I removed the battery cover, and sure enough, I see a hard disk. I reseated it, but no luck.

On to HP support! After a lengthy chat session, the online agent agreed that I should receive a new HDD. He also said he'd ship recovery CDs, which is nice as it will allow me to install the OS, etc. All I had to do was call HP support and give them a credit card number.

I've spent the last 90 minutes trying to call support, but I keep getting disconnected. Apparently HP is "unable to take my call right now," and I should "try again later."

This is not the premium customer service experience I'd expect for a $1000+ notebook.

Meh. Thanks for letting me vent. On the plus side, I discovered NBR in this process, I think I'll like it here.

 

Sorry to hear your troubles. Are you calling the regular HP support or the Envy number?

Envy support is the premium service you get when you purchase your laptop. I don't have the number with me since I returned my Envy, but you will find it on the black glossy rectangular insert in the original box. I am sure you will get the best help possible to resolve this matter.

P.S. Welcome to NBR, yes, its a very nice place this NBR thing, lol.

KJ

 

This is what I do when I first get a new HP laptop. I copy the folder to my external 500Gb hard drive C:\swsetup. This folder has all the driver and software that comes installed on the laptop. Then i do a clean install and use the drivers from the external hard drive to get me up in running pretty fast. then I can install any of the software I think is useful. Try this process next time it will save you time searching and downloading from HP's website.....

 

Yup, same here. I don't understand all the alarmism surrounding creating backup discs. Windows 7 does such a great job of finding drivers and HP's site has the rest.

I AM finding however, that my fan is constantly on (albeit at a very low speed) and wondering if the stock setup had the same issue, but didn't wait long enough before formatting to observe fan behavior.

 

Mine is the same way. It stays on at a low speed constantly. Not really worried about it though as other notebooks I have owned (Asus W3J/Dell D800) were the same way. I would be more concerned with high temps around the palmrest/bottom of the machine then the fan staying on.

 

Can you simply drag and drop the backed up C:\swsetup folder onto the freshly installed Windows 7 and the drivers are there? Or do you need to install them from the swsetup folder?

 

You could put the driver folder on the desktop, then install the drivers from there one at a time.

 

Thanks KJ! Once I finally got through to the Envy line things went a lot better. Turns out they are shorthanded today, due to the weather, so a lot of internally transferred calls (like mine) were dropped.

I spoke with a knowledgeable, helpful tech, who arranged to have a replacement hard drive sent right out. He said he'll call me in a couple of days to see how things are going! Here's hoping that an HDD swap is all my envy needs.

This is much more like the level of service I've come to expect from dealing with HP through the IT department at work!

 

Nice. Glad to see they are taking the extra step to call back the customer to check if the issue is resolved.

P.S. Its times like these is when having a "premium" support makes things go a lot smoother.

KJ

 

Just go to the *OFFICIAL HP ENVY 14 & Beats Owners Lounge, Part Deux* thread right on the top of this forum and all of the drivers and software can be found there. You don't have to "hunt" for anything.