The HP Laptop Out-Of-The-Box Guide 2.0 for Windows 7

Yep that's the way I'm headed now. Shortly to buy an SSD, so I'm holding back on the install until that's here.

I have managed to get some recovery discs (1 OS, 1 Drivers/Software) out of HP in addition to the OS discs that came with the machine. They'll turn up in the next fortnight, so I'm set fair.

 

I just did a clean install of Win7 Ultimate x64 on my Envy 14 but when restoring with abr beta although restore is successful when I I check Control Panel>System Windows activation status info is not available.

On the bottom right of the desktop it says "This copy of Windows is not genuine" and I also got a pop up saying "You may be a victim of software counterfeiting."

Anyone experienced the same? or know what has gone wrong?

I downloaded Win7 from these instructions:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-7-download-links-just-like-vista-before.html

EDIT: Ahh, I re-read the instructions again and I think the problem is I should be reinstalling the Home Premium not Ultimate. Dammit!

 

Yep, you have to install the version your notebook came with, you can't upgrade versions (ult/hm prem/enterprise) but you can change 32/64 bit if you want

 

I'm planning on doing a clean install of 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium on my Envy 14. I noticed that on my hard drive there are three partitions: The Local Disk (C: ), one named Recovery (D: ), and one named HP Tools (E: ). I think that the HP Tools partition contains HP's quickweb that allows you to access the internet without booting windows. I don't ever intend on using this so is it alright If I erase this partition? Also, sense I burned the recovery disks, do I need to keep the Recovery partition? Thanks.

 

This is an awesome guide. It is still up to date and relevant as of August 2010. To answer jokerman01 above and others: yes, as far as I'm concerned, after imaging all your partitions, go ahead and format Recovery and HP_Tools. I'm no computer expert and I survived the clean install. So will you.

So let me throw in my 2 cents/pennies:


Clean Install. What has worked for me. Notes to myself distributed without any guarantee. I have no special competence.

I did the following on an HP-DV6-3048TX. I have Windows 7 Pro 64 bits. Many other models will work likewise, e.g. the HP-Envy-15, etc.


1. Create HP Recovery Disks (6 of them, HP in HK refused to sell them to me, I'm furious).

2. Back up the SwSetup folder (C:\SwSetup) for original software and drivers. Download model-specific updates from from 24/7 Online support for HP's Home and Home Office Products - HP Customer Care (United States - English).

3. Create an image of the entire computer with e.g. Macrium Reflect Freeware. Be sure to save the xml file created by Macrium. Edit: Naturally, save all of this on an external drive! I did look into saving the image on a blu-ray DVD, but it was too large.

4. Download the ABR software from http://directedge.us/files/abr/ABRbeta.exe.

5. Run ABR in backup mode to save your windows credentials.

6. Create Windows 7 Discs.

6a. Download a fixed version iso of Windows 7 32 bits or 64 bits.

6b. Download the configuration tool.

6c. Run the configuration tool as administrator in the same folder as the Windows 7 iso. This will remove the ei.cfg file from it to allow for all version installation.

6d. Burn the resulting "tweaked" iso to disk.

7. Optimize your partitions. I kept the SYSTEM partition (199MB) untouched. I deleted both the HP_TOOLS and RECOVERY volumes. Then, I shrank the C: partition to 100GB for my Windows OS, and created a D: partition of about 200GB to store my Windows documents and backups. I then left about 150GB of disc unassigned and unformatted, to be used later to install my linux OS. Remember that you are allowed to have a maximum of 4 primary partitions -- to have more than 4, you must use extended partitions (not primary).

8. Run the Windows 7 DVD and install windows on the C: partition.

9. Run ABR in restore mode to authenticate your version of windows.

10. Install the latest drivers from the SwSetup folder and/or from 24/7 Online support for HP's Home and Home Office Products - HP Customer Care (United States - English). I installed the drivers as needed, starting with the wireless drivers. For what I need I'm set to go with very few additional drivers. I did install the synaptics touchpad driver too. Setting it up was a nightmare, but that's true whether you keep your original install or go for a clean one.

11. Install an antivirus. I use Avira Antivir. I have also used Avast in the past. I also use Spybot and Threatfire. I have also used Malwarebytes and Superantispyware in the past. I am probably overprotected. Whatever works for you.

12. Update Windows.

13. Optimize your computer. In particular, defragment the drives with, e.g. Perfect Disk Professional 30-day trial or Auslogics Disk Defrag freeware, and clean it with freeware such as CCleaner and Glary utilities.

14.

14a. Optimize your keyboard. First, go into the BIOS (Press ESC on startup) and disable the ACTIONS KEYS MODE. This re-establishes the standard position of the F1-F12 keys, which HP in their master-of-the-world paranoia have inverted.

14b. You may also want to remap the Caps-Lock key and the special HP keys to be found on the left-hand side. I remap the F1 key (assigned to Help by default) into the Context key (which is next to the right-control key by default and can be pressed accidentally) and remap the default Context key into another right-Control key. I use Sharpkeys 3.0 a freeware that does pretty much all the job for you. Use the "type key" mode rather than scrolling down the key names. To save the registry file, do the following:

(i) Type regedit in start menu search box,
(ii) Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout
(iii) Go to File -> Export and save the registry entry as OriginalKeyboardLayout.reg
(iv) Apply the changes implemented with Sharpkeys.
(v) Go to File -> Export and save the registry entry as ModifiedKeyboardLayout.reg


To revert to the original keyboard, run OriginalKeyboardLayout.reg

To apply your customization to several machines, without Sharpkeys, run ModifiedKeyboardLayout.reg

15. Create an image of the partition containing Windows.

16. You may want to install another OS on your laptop to run in parallel with Windows7. To install k/ubuntu or some other linux OS in a dual boot with windows, I recommend the following: leave enough unassigned/unformatted disc space on the right-hand side of your existing three (or no more than three) primary partition. I have 150GB. After you mount the iso of the kubuntu-intall-disc, you reboot on the DVD (press ESC at the boot, then F9 to select DVD as the boot drive) and let kubuntu handle the creation of the partitions (home, swap, whatever they are). In its immense wisdom, kubuntu 10.4 will create a primary partition and several extended partitions within this large empty space, and all will be done with the default setup options -- they work great for me. If you are picky about the layout of your boot menu, you will need to research how to tweak your Grub2 boot loader.

References:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...-hp-laptop-out-box-guide-2-0-windows-7-a.html


http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-7-download-links-just-like-vista-before.html

References on Grub2 for linux, just in case you're a dual-booter:

https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Grub2
How to: Create a Customized GRUB2 Screen that is Maintenance Free. - Ubuntu Forums


Enjoy your laptop now!

 

Guys I justed posted this on the drivers forum too, just in case someone is in need of it.

I was one of the lucky individuals who did not backup the swsetup folder prior to a fresh install, which contains the HP drivers and special software (i.e digital persona fingerprint reader software). So I just googled "digital persona software HP" and found it on hp website for download from another HP pavilion laptop. Follow the link if you were in my position and need this software and don't want to re-do everything :

Digital Persona Fingerprint Reader Software HP Pavilion dv3500ea Entertainment Notebook PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

 

I got the Envy 14 with windows 7 Home

I'm upgrading it to a professional. It was cheaper for me to get it from my school than upgrading it on the hp website. What are the steps I need to take since I am not making a clean sweep of my laptop by reinstalling the same os but rather simply upgrading to a new os?

 

Does the minimized image install reinstall any of the original bloatware? I inadvertently did this and it seems to have gotten rid of a lot of the crap while also saving me the hassle of reinstalling all the misc. HP-specific drivers, which seems to be the ideal situation. Not sure if I should just roll with this, or if there's a benefit to a "pure" clean install.

 

"Windows could not complete the installation. To install windows on this computer, restart the installation."

Click Ok.

Setup will continue after restarting you computer.

(endless loop)

If I boot from CD, it loads up and doesn't do anything after that. What have I done here?

 

But you could get it to boot from the DVD initially?

 

So, out of curiosity, is there any reason *not* to uninstall Internet Explorer? I don't ever intend to use it.

(Sorry if this has been addressed already.)

 

You can remove IE using the windows features selector, but there's really no point (there is no performance gain), IE doesn't really do anything if you don't run it, and the basic pieces of IE will be left behind anyway. Plus, you also never know when you run into one of those ages old "IE only" sites.

 

Hi,

I have followed this guide and removed the bloatware of HP but I was wondering which application shows me the volume bar on the screen ? by the way, I'm using Envy14

 

You can either reinstall HP Mediasmart, or use 3RVX ( matt.malensek ) which is a skinnable on screen volume display, is much lighter, and handles full screen apps properly

 

Anyone else having any problems with Restore Point? I get nearly all the way through the process but once it logs me back onto Windows I get an error message saying something like "Restore Point failed, failed to access a file" then it blames my anti virus and tells me to disable it. The thing is, I did disable Bitdefender, I even went into msconfig and set it to not start when I start up Windows (just to be safe).

It seems like a software conflict to me, I just can't determine what is interfering with restore point. Or, perhaps some of the bloatware I uninstalled is now causing a problem because restore point is looking for it but it's gone.

Hp is telling me to run some sort of SFC scan and/or create a new user account and try restore point (not sure how a new user account helps)

Should I try restore point in safe mode maybe? I just want to make sure restore point works because I will probably need it at some point.

 

have you tried using system restore from the recovery manager? (press F8 at boot and then select "Repair Your Computer" and then click "System Restore")

If that doesn't work, your best (and easiest) bet for getting system restore to work is to do a clean install (or recovery) and reinstall drivers/software.

Just removing apps should theoretically not cause problems with system restore.

 

Guys, i have a question.

If i install some of the HP mediasmart software, is there a way of reinstalling it?

Sounds daft but ive uninstalled the bloatware and actually want some of it back

 

Yep, the installer will be located in C:\SwSetup (you'll have to search around for the installer in there)

 

I am following the procedure as posted at the beginning. But when I reinstalled the win 7 (download Windows 7 x64 English followed by the link in the guide and did run the ei.cfg)from my usb key, the system asked me to input the product key. I entered the serial number listed on the bottom of my HP laptop(home 64 version), but it didn't pass through: product key doesn't match the current windows SKU). I didn't notice anywhere it asked me to choose the win 7 version during my installation.

Can anyone help me on this? Thanks

 

Did you run the ei.cfg remover as admin?

Also, you should not be inputting the key on the bottom of your laptop if you are using ABR to backup the activation, just skip that step in the install (and then use ABRrestore to restore the activation)

 

quick question concerning mediasmart. can the portion of the software that enables blu-ray playback be installed rather than the whole suite ?
even better, i just want to install the extensions that would allow bd playback in wmc ...

 

So far so good. I'm installing all of the Windows updates now. It's so nice to go to the programs section in the Control Panel and see "No programs are installed on this computer."

 

will the recovery disks be useful if im reinstalling windows 7 professional? instead of the home premium that was factory installed?

 

u can't do that ... because i believe it backs up the product key when it creates the recovery discs.

you still have to have a product key for ultimate in order to install it.
might i ask why you want to install ultimate ? do you need bitlocker function ?

 

I tried doinng this for my ASUS laptop. downloaded the ISO, and removed .efic file. I just didnt backup my cert and key. But I have the Windows 7 Home Premium Key on my laptop. When I input it, it doesnt activate it. Any ideas what I can do?

Let me know.

 

there's an option to call into an automated system, which will give you a code you can use to activate ...

 

Hello, I am having trouble. I made the 3 recovery disks for my hp envy before clean install. I dont know how to do a recovery using my disks. Recovery manager is missing after the clean install and i don't know what to do. Help me please.

 

To do a recovery via the discs you just put in the first disc, boot to it, and follow the instructions

 

u can also download the recovery tool from hp's site under the drivers section

 

I tried booting from disk already. I can only click microsoft system restore. It doesnt allow me to click system recovery. And Can someone link me the page that has the recovery tool drivers please? Thanks

 

are you sure that you're booting from an HP recovery disc? It sounds like you are booting from a windows disc.

 

Hello, I recently received my new hp laptop and it came with 3 discs, labeled "System recovery dvd - windows 7 recovery media for windows 7 products (disc 1 of 2)", the same thing labeled disc 2 of 2, and a third labeled "Application and driver recovery DVD". My question is do I still need to follow step one or are those recovery discs the same as the ones that came with my laptop? Also do I need to back up the SwSetup folder or is that the same as the "application and driver recovery dvd" that came with my laptop? Thanks for any responses and a big thanks to those who contributed to making this awesome thread.

 

Just read through the majority of the thread and saw my question was already answered on page 5...they are the same recovery CDs. I burned the swsetup files to a separate disc though as I'm still unsure if they are the same as the application and driver recovery dvd.

 

the application and driver recovery dvd contains the same software as the SwSetup folder

 

just use clonezilla to back up your disks/partitions onto an external drive. once you achieve a clean install you like, create the image.

i back up 42 gb in about 10 mins. i can bring it all back in about the same time in the event my installation goes south ...

 

A quick question, can i make my recovery disks while doing other stuff, like watching and downloading movies..?

 

It might be time to update the list of bloatware. I just purchased a 2nd dv7 for my wife, from HP Store, and found many changes in it. Forgot to make a list of course, sorry about that, the new items I remember are Office 2010 Starter vs. both Works & the Trial, the Bing Bar, Hulu Desktop, DVB TV Tuner (which must be something different from the driver as this one doesn't have a TV Tuner-if I understand what I've read correctly this is a receiver for European TV that's broadcast via the Internet? Not really sure, but I deleted it as we don't watch TV on the laptop), and several items pertaining to movies. Two, at least, were related to CinemaNow from Roxio and another might have been-something like the MediaSmart MoviePack Themes? Oh, and there was Times Reader which was disabled when I removed Adobe AIR-no problem for me but that should be noted under advice re: Adobe AIR.

Anyway, thought I'd mention that while the guide is still excellent the bloatware list now appears to be out of date. Thanks.

 

Do i need to keep HP mediasmart applications. Particularly movie themes and music/photo/video ones are taking 400MB each. Do we also need Microsoft SQL server 2005 compact edition. These programs came with factory installed. Looks like Microsoft works is not free. I have uninstalled without noticing it.

 

Did anyone try the clean Win7 installation on a Virtual Machine?
I am trying to do this but I am unable to activate the windows!!
Following are the steps that I followed:

- Downloaded the ISO (Win 7 x64 English)
- Removed the ei.cfg file using the utilitiy
- Created a backup of my Win7 x64 Home Premium, using ABRBeta
- Created a virtual machine using VMware Workstation 7.1 and installed the windows from ISO file. Selected Windows 7 x64 Ultimate
- Installed fine, booted and under System properties appeared 30 days for activation.
- Ran the ABRBeta "activation_restore"
- Checked System properties again and found "Activation Status Not Available" and "Product ID: Not Available"
- Rebooted the system and got a popup message "This copy of Windows is not geniune" etc etc........... same message appearing on my desktop background!!!!

Am I doing anything wrong? Any help would be appreaciated

________________________
My lappy: HP DV6 SE, i7 720 QM, 4 GBX1, 500 GB 7200 RPM, ATI HD 5650, DVD-RW LS, WIN7 x64 HP

 

Since the VM will appear to have different hardware it probably won't activate correct without a call to Microsoft.

 

i've posted this question in some other threads, no answer. so i'll post it here:

i did a clean install when i got my envy 17, but decided i needed Mediasmart DVD for blu-ray playback.

so i installed it via the swsetup folder files. but i can't update it with the latest update from HP. the installer i downloaded doesn't install anything when i run it, i am trying to figure out what other components of their mediasmart suite are necessary so that i can determine what to add.

i don't mind having Mediasmart components on my system, so long as i can control them and not have them interfere or start up automatically ...

HP's recommendation is to run recovery manager and add mediasmart dvd via that. but i don't have recovery manager on a clean win7 install, and don't really care to restore my machine to factory condition ...

 

did you try installing HP update from swsetup just to update mediasmart dvd?

 

But if I have another key (get free keys as student on my school) there would not be a problem right?

 

no i didn't ... i have it installed via swsetup files, so i'll stay with that unless some major blu-ray updates come in the future or i buy a burner with software included ...

 

I just performed a clean install on my brother's new G62 notebook. Installed all the drivers from the swsetup folder but now the wired internet connection doesn't work and I cannot set the screen to its native resolution, only a lower one (like the driver for the graphics adapter isn't installed).

Anyone have problems like this after a clean install?

 

Thanks for the guide, it worked fine.
Only problem i got is with the language, it seems like its only possible to change this on ultimate or enterprise, not in home premium

 

After my first Envy 14 came DOA, the replacement arrived last week. It was fine, but when I was trying to make an image of the C: drive (after creating a D: partition for data, etc.) it all came tumbling down. First was a blue screen which it recovered from, but then a message "system volume on disk is corrupt". I wasn't able to get to the recovery partition, and finally after hours of "screwing around", tried to reinstall from the system recovery DVDs that I'd gotten with the system. Disk one loaded, performed the first two tasks, then hung on the "restoring files to HD" task (it sat at 3% for over an hour). I tried a second time with the same result. Deciding that it was time for a clean install (I'd already created a Win7 Install disk, captured the windows product key, and saved the SwSetup directory) I did that. Everything went fine until I tried to install the Adobe(R) Photoshop(R) Elements 8 & Adobe Premiere(R) Elements 8 that came preinstalled. When I got to the "enter product key", I realized I didn't have a key. I had a chat with Adobe, then wasted over an hour on a chat with HP, who say the only solution is to do the following:

NOTE: This procedure requires that you have a set of User-Created Recovery Discs (UCRDs) or Support-Sent Recovery Discs (SSRDs). Also, the Manufacturer Menu may not be available on all models. The Manufacturer Menu is not available from System Recovery Manager when booting from the hard drive.


1.Turn on the computer, insert the first recovery disc into the first (top) optical drive, and then turn off the computer again (press and hold the power button).

2.Turn on the computer and wait for the inital logo screen to appear.

3.The next screen should be blank with a cursor blinking in the upper left corner of the screen. When the cursor drops one line immediately press and hold the Ctrl key, and momentarily press the Backspace key.

The Manufacturer Menu opens. If not, try again. If you cannot open the manufacturer menu, it may not be available.

Manufacturer Menu:

<1> clear the partition table of drive 1

<2> erase the Master Boot Record of drive 1

<3> wipe all sectors of drive 1

<4> Save DMI Sysinfo to drive 1

<5> Test the system RAM for defects

<ESC> restart this CDROM

4.Select option clear the partition table of drive 1 .

The screen goes black displaying a blinking cursor. After a few seconds the Recovery Manager screen opens.

5.Click Cancel on the Recover Manager screen to restart the computer

6.Turn on the computer and repeat step 3 to open the Manufacturer Menu.

7..Select option erase the Master Boot Record of drive .

The screen goes black displaying a blinking cursor. After a few seconds the Recovery Manager screen opens.

8.Click Cancel on the Recover Manager screen to restart the computer

9.Turn on the computer and repeat step 3 to open the Manufacturer Menu.

10.Select option wipe all sectors of drive .

An Erasing Hard Drive progress bar displays at the bottom of the screen. All data on the hard drive is erased and replaced with new data. This process can take a considerable amount of time, depending on installed RAM, the size of the hard drive, hard drive speed, CPU speed, etc... (approximately 250 GB per hour).

11.After the hard drive is erased the Recovery Manager screen opens. Read and respond to the screens to complete a system recovery.


There you have it. I'm not going to go back to the original system (especially after spending 8+ hours getting to this point and having a clean, lean and mean system!). Anyone have a way to install just these programs, or get the product key out of the recovery disks, (or a recommendation for alternatives to the Adobe programs)? Thanks for all the great support - I couldn't have gotten this far without all those who are keeping this ship afloat!

If anyone would like a bit of humor, I could post the chat...

 

yes, in that case you will be able to change versions

 

go to hp's support website, type in your model number, and download/install the drivers for the graphics card and ethernet adapter

 

there is a software that allows you to install the MUI language packs on versions other than ultimate or enterprise, but i'm not sure if they can be discussed here, google it