Newbie help

Hi guys! I have a few questions that I thought you guys could probably help me out with. I just bought my first notebook and it is an HP Pavilion DV1321US.
I'm assuming it is part of the dv1000 series.
-Intel Pentium M 1.6mhz
-60GB
-512MB DDR SDRAM
-14" Screen

I've been using it for a few days already. I haven't noticed any of the high-pitched buzzing some people have complained about and my CMOS clock seems to run just fine.
My questions involve keeping my laptop turned on overnight in the case I have a program running. What kind of power settings should I have so my notebook doesn't fry?
I have my laptop's screen turn off after 20 minutes when in A/C power, my harddisk never to turn off, never to stand-by, and never to hibernate.
I don't know the difference between standing-by and hibernating...

Also besides the keyboard part getting somewhat warm, the very bottom part of my screen gets pretty **** hot...to the point where I really can't keep my finger on the metallic HP logo for too long. I wouldn't get burned but it's pretty close. The top of the screen is fairly cool, I'm guessing as it gets closer to the bottom the temperature is highest.
I've been looking at some of those laptop cooling panels with the fans since they're relatively cheap.


Anyways, any and all help you can give me is highly appreciated.

 

I think the cooling pad is a really good idea.

Laptops are not the best machines for 24/7 running but if you do do it then I think a cooling pad and shutting off the monitor are both good ideas.

Stand by doesnt take as long to start up from as hybernate does but stand by uses more power over time.

What kind of application are you running over night?
If its using the hard drive regularly then keep it running but if its not using it very often then stand by should help with the temp a little.

 

Ah thanks for the help...
What's the difference between stand by and hibernation?
The program I'd leave overnight would be Adobe Audition to record this radio program that begins at like 7AM. I have it auto-record at that time...

 

Heres a nice explanation of the difference between Stand by and Hybernate.

I would have your system go into hybernation until just before the show comes on then power up for the copy then go back to sleep it will save your system the most wear and tear.

 

Ah thanks, I didn't know you could schedule your notebook to go in and out of hibernation mode
So I'm guessing if I'm transferring a big file to my friend, I wouldn't want to have it go into standby since it would turn off the HD?

 

You can have it go to stand by, all iut really means is it will take a little longer to transfer becuase the system has to wake up first but it wont stop a file from being transfered.

Remember these are states that the machine puts itself into when its not doing anything if it needs to do something it can wake it self up.

 

If the high-pitched buzzing is coming from one of the sides where the CPU is located, that seems to be normal for HPs. I wouldn't worry about it.

Also, your notebook will put out a lot of heat compared to a desktop (where you wouldn't notice the heat from a desktop unless you somehow put the fan vent in front of your leg as you type) that you can feel, so don't worry too much and just enjoy the laptop.

A coolpad if found for cheap...can't hurt. I'll put it that way.

 

I just purchased a dv1000 and also noticed the heat from the bottom of the screen, I am pretty sure its not a big deal so I don't think we have to worry abou t it. Unlike you my keyboard does not get warm but I do have it on a Laptop CoolPad that props it up so the air can circulate properly, and as a plus puts the laptop at an angle for easier typing.
As for the clock issue and the buzzing that seems to have been an issue that has been fixed since the notebook came out a year ago.

 

Thanks a lot to all who responded. You've certainly put my mind at ease

 

Haha I just started getting the weird high pitched whirring.
It's definitely NOT coming from the hardware itself since I had my headphones in and I could hear it from the headphone but not when I took them off. I'm thinking it has something to do with the sound card, maybe a driver update would take care of it?

 

Were you listening to music? If so try with a different program. I am assuming it was background noise.
I would update the driver first and see if that helps. Check the sound properties and see if everyghing seems ok.

 

Hm I just tried several things.
Whenever I open a new program that may use sound the whirring begins.
It may have something to do with the sound card most likely.
Also, there's no built-in mic in the laptop to my knowledge, but I kept hearing faint white noise and once I muted the mic, that solved it.
I haven't tried muting the mic when the whirring begins but I'll try as soon as it happens again and report back.

 

Holy cow...I think I solved it.
Here's the results of my experiment.

Test #1:
Settings- No mic plugged in, Microphone in volume control NOT MUTED, headphones on.
I hear this crackling type of noise in the background and when I open a movie file, there's a brief, high-pitched whirring sound for a good 10-15 seconds.

Test #2:
Settings - No mic plugged in, Microphone in volume control MUTED, headphones on.
NO crackling noise anymore, and NO high-pitched whirring when I open a movie file.

Test #3:
Settings - Plantronics Mic plugged in, Microphone in volume control NOT MUTED, headphones on.
Since the mic is not muted, I can hear whatever gets through the mic, however other than that, no crackling noise and no whirring sound.

Test #4:
Settings - Same mic plugged in, mic is turned OFF, Mic in volume control is MUTED, headphones on.
Perfect run, no background noise, no whirring, no crackling.

Hope this helps all of you with similar problems. This is DEFINITELY a sound card problem because during test 4, while the video was playing, I unplugged my microphone, and the sound was briefly cut off. I'm not exactly sure as to the mechanics of why this happens since I'm not an electrical engineer, but I guess it has something to do with the fact that maybe it's just a crappy sound card. I mean come on, 1 mic input, 2 headphone outputs, no line-in?

 

I am glad you solved your problem I was going to get into muting things if the driver didnt fix your problem. I had a similar issue with my desktop and muting my cd input fixed the problem.
Keep us posted.

 

Thanks. It's a little sad and relieving at the same time.
Relieving that it's not anything too serious, and a little sad that they couldn't get one of the simpler components of the laptop right...