Windows 8 / Windows 8.1 on HP Pavilion dv9000 dv9500

I've been trying to install Windows 8.1 onto a HP dv9000 notebook. Unfortunately, there are no dedicated drivers for this model for Windows 8 / Windows 8.1. I have a dv9340ea - Intel ICH7M, Geforce Go 7600. I will make a short description of each driver and it's related problem.

1) Intel Chipset Drivers

The Windows 8 version of this driver is available for download from Intel Support. The latest driver includes all the Chipset drivers for dv9000 - ICH7M and ICH8M. The driver works perfect. You can also keep the stock drivers from Windows 8. There is no newer driver available through Windows Update.


2) Intel SATA

The Windows 8 version of this driver available on Intel Support DOES NOT CONTAIN the ICH7M SATA drivers anymore. Therefore, there is no ICH7 SATA driver for Windows 8. I tried modifying the .inf by adding the ICH7M VEN and DEV, but I get blue screen at boot. The last option was to install the older Windows 7 driver. It works fine, but sometimes I get blue screen and freeze at shut-down/hibernate/sleep. I also tried to keep the stock Standard SATA provided by Windows 8, but the boot is slow. There is no driver available through Windows Update.


3) nVIDIA GeForce Go 7600

There are Windows 8 drivers for this on laptopvideo2go.com, but you need to install an older version, because newer ones do not have the modified .inf needed for the driver to work with Go 7600. So, I installed 302.80, using the provided modified inf file. I also tried the Windows 7 driver and it also works okay, tried in games too. You can also get a newer version through Windows Update, I got myself 307.68.


4) Conexant HD Audio and Conexant Modem

You can get the drivers from Windows Update. They seem to work fine, but you can also try the Windows 7 ones. They also work okay. I encounter sound crackling once in a while, but I really don't know if this is caused by a driver or by Breakaway Audio Enhancer, an audio processor I use as soundcard. Under Windows 7, there is no sound crackling.


5) HP QuickLaunch Buttons

This driver is also available on Windows Update. It works fine. Also tried older Windows 7 driver that also works.


6) HP Bluetooth

The Windows bluetooth driver is not enough in order to use special bluetooth features. The only driver that worked was the latest one provided in the Guide for Windows 7 on dv9000 dv9500. But you have to extract the .exe file, navigate to Win32 or Win64 and hit inst.exe. Otherwise, the installation won't work. Older drivers for bluetooth give a send/don't send error report Window when certain features are accessed. Although Windows Update will install a newer bluetooth driver, this won't be enough in order to use special features over bluetooth.


7) Synaptics Touchpad

Altought Windows Update installs a driver for this device, it is a very old one. I recommend you to install the latest driver from Synaptics Support website, as this will also get you touch gestures and various other special features. Don't try older drivers, as you may encounter errors with the vertical scrolling, specifically the number of rows to scroll not being the same in IE11 and other apps.


8) Intel PRO/1000 PL LAN

Windows 8 provides a stock driver for this device. There is no driver for Windows 8 for this device on Intel Support website. You only get Windows 7 drivers, but they do not work at all under Windows 8. You can't install them. This is the only option.


9) Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG

Windows 8 provides a stock driver for this device. There is no driver for Windows 8 for this device on Intel Support website. You only get Windows 7 drivers, but you can install them only in compatibility mode when you click the installer. But I think the best one is the stock one for now. I also encounter an issue: when I reboot / shut-down / fast shut-down, I can't connect to any WLAN network giving me "Checking network requirements" on-screen. The only way to fix this is to disable and re-enable the driver in device manager. I don't know if this is a driver related issue.


10) Ricoh 5-in-1 Card Reader

There is no driver for this on Windows Update. You can install the older Windows 7 driver and it works perfectly. No issue.


If someone has any ideas where we could get Windows 8 / Windows 8.1 drivers for these devices, please reply to this post. I also hope my research will help other people solve their Windows 8 problems with dv9000 / dv9500 laptops.

P.S. : The only reason I want to use 8.1 is because IE11 under Windows 7 doesn't allow 1080p playback on YouTube's HTML5 player. You only have 360p/720p because IE11 for Windows 7 doesn't have Media Source Extensions and the 8.1 version has them. The reason I use IE11 is because HTML5 video playback is GPU decoded and this lowers the CPU usage by almost 5 times compared to HTML5 video playback in Firefox or Chrome. Also, Windows 8.1 Fast Shutdown option makes the difference in terms of boot speed compared to Windows 7, even if dv9000 doesn't have UEFI.

 

+Rep for the detail in your questions. I’m surprised that no one here has any additional thoughts or info for you. Still…just a couple of thoughts:

2) Intel SATA - You could try installing the AHCI driver available in the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (RST) download. I’m not sure about Win8, but in Win7 I prefer to extract the drivers and use the F6 option to install additional drivers during a clean install. You can install the driver after install but you may have to go into win7 to manually put it in AHCI mode. There are lots of source instructions for manually forcing AHCI mode on the Web and it’s relatively easy to do. You made need to check around a bit to find out if this is applicable to Win8.

PS) 1080P? What is the screen resolution of your DV9000. Does it support 1080P? If not, your efforts with Win8, IE11, and YouTube 1080P could be for nil unless you are pushing to an external monitor. As far as I remember most of these units were 16:10 LCDs at either WXGA+ (1440 X 900) or WSXGA (1680 X 1050). 720P=1280X720, 1080P = 1920 X 1080.

Perhaps someone else will pipe in with more ideas!

Best, Dave

 

Thanks for your reply.

There is no AHCI driver for ICH7 on Intel website for Windows 8.1. All the AHCI drivers have older chipsets removed from the inf file. Even F6 versions do not contain ICH7. I also tried modding the inf to add ICH7 device ids, but all I get is blue screen on reboot.

Even if my display is 1440x900, 1080p looks way sharper than 720p. This is why I am trying to solve the issues. Now I'm back to Windows 7 until I will find more solutions.

The real problem is that Microsoft forces users to move to Windows 8.1 but also to buy new hardware. Hardware companies do not include older devices in their drivers. Also, HTML5 under IE11 for Windows 7 lacks Media Source Extensions, which is the reason why there is no 1080p on Youtube if you don't want to use (way slower and CPU hungry) Flash Player.

 

Reason no one has posted back is that is such a old laptop W8 drivers for it is non existence that is the reason you got on reply back. Rather you should load Windows 7 and use the vista drivers for it and that will do more for that old of a laptop.

 

I'm more suprised to hear that there still is a unit that works.
I was unlucky to own one with amd cpu and nvidia chipset in addition to gpu.

Stock drivers often are provided by chip manufacturers as the last and best driver available for legacy hardware. So if the driver/device works with satisfactory performance there is probably no need to upgrade. Obviously doesn't apply to everything though.

We tested last week a dell tablet that I plugged into a desktop monitor with 1680x1050 resolution. I got warning message similar to WinXP/7 running on low resolution that all items in start menu may not be visible.... "need at least 15xx x 1080 resolution". Gave us a good laugh at least.

 

The entire series (DV2000, Dv6000, Dv9000) were once very popular here on NBR and there are a number of NBR old timers here that have a bunch of experience with these and like units… though likely not running Win8. Personally, I thought it was pretty cool that you were willing to post detailed results of your experiment and try and find some “constructive” help to see if Win8 would/could run stable on this platform. Just looking at your results it looks like Win8, and Win8 update, does in fact at least include the primary drivers (Chipset, Audio, Video) for these units… though the BOOT was a bit slow for your liking.

If you really want to continue the experiment, I think my next step would be to follow KLF’s advice and install Win8 from scratch using just the primary drivers supplied by the OS. Then if all is well, and disregarding all the peripheral stuff, see if you could force AHCI mode through the Registry. Like all the units in this series, there is no selection for AHCI in the BIOS but by forcing AHCI mode in the Registry and re-Booting you “may” find that a Win8 provided AHCI driver is then present in device manger. This is the way it works on our Win7 DV2700t… unless you use the F6 driver install option…which you can’t do due to missing updated Intel drivers. If speed is then the only issue (outside of still not supporting 1080P), you could also try a small SSD… though you may want to check if your unit supports at least SATA II. I think it does … but I’m not positive. If it’s SATA I limited you won’t get too much of an improvement.

Remember though… that KLF (the comedian ) is also correct that these units died by the tens of thousands due to the poor Ball-Grid array solder on the Nivida GPU’s which resulted in a class action law suit against Nvida. If your WiFi becomes intermittent or you sometimes begin to get no video… you’re toast!

Still…for whatever reason… there are units that have survived and have had no issues… (yet).

Best to all, Dave

 

When crying doesn't help, all there is left is to laugh

Nvidia issue wasn't just GPU but included all chips, so North/Southbridges died too (when you lost Sata or WiFi it's chipset that fails, not GPU).

That might have come as a suprise to some people if they had nforce chipset (that failed) but intel cpu and ati/amd gpu... I've seen those more on desktops though. NF430 is pretty common, some computers had it and were sold as new couple years ago. Desktop versions do not die as easily as the hot-cold-hot transfers aren't as drastic but they still eventually fail.

 

Given the OP's particular model doesn't have an nVidia north or southbridge as it isn't AMD based it's not surprising that it still works. The GPU itself wasn't that unreliable as it has a better heatsink on it.
As to the points from the OP - I wouldn't worry about the chipset or SATA drivers - the ones built into 8 will do the job just fine.

 

I knew there were some others here with experience with these units! At-any-rate, another good one their KLF, I had no idea about the chipsets also having the Nvidia disease. The only thing I remember is that the now settled class action law suit was targeted at Apple, Dell, and HP models that included all of the Geforce 7600, 8400, or 8600 series notebook GPUs.

Whenever I tinker with one of these units, a trouble-shooting step of last resort also includes putting the unit in the freezer… but I guess for KLF you could just sit it outside . I’ve seen this work at least a half a dozen times and instantly tells you it either needs a re-flow or tossed in the electronics trash bin.

And thanks Simon for the input… I think we all agree now that the OPs best hope is to just “try” and use the provided Win8 drivers.
But LOL… where’d the OP go?

Best, Dave

 

I was going to answer with this from few days ago. But it's currently snowing... As a comparison, it rained on Christmas day.

Maybe the laptop eventually died. I hope not

 

Too funny... nice instrument panel... Audi ?

 

Guys, many thanks for your replies.

I had overheating issues with my dv9000, but I finally managed to fix it by using Burt Johnson's fix named "How I fixed my overheating dv9000": first got my chip reflowed, then patched the ACPI so that there is a false higher temperature reported so my cooler now starts when needed, avoiding overheating and breaking up again. It's been over 2 years with NO ISSUES AT ALL. I've had this unit since 2008 (got it as a present when I got 18), I really wanted this model specifically and I am still a big fan of it. I really wanted the hdx18t series, but it was too expensive and it also had overheating issues. The design of these HP's is one of the best I've ever seen, too bad the quality is not good at all (both hinges got broken and I had to replace them, the screen casing also got broken, noisy cooler needed oiling twice, palm rest got scratched and the paint went out so I had to replace it and applied transparent foil to avoid the problem in the future, the power socket also got ripped off...). So it was quite a headache to use this notebook, but I just didn't want to abandon it and buy another one and got it repaired myself cheap enough.

I was using a slimmed version of Windows 8.1 and this is why it was worth trying to make devices work on it as it was really fast, even booting was fast although dv9000 doesn't have UEFI. For now, I abandoned Windows 8.1 and switched back to 7 because I can't get used to the new (worse) font antialiasing that Microsoft introduced starting from Windows 8 and Office 2013... I really hate it. Also, I don't realy like the new Metro UI of Windows 8/8.1 and I find it useless. The only thing I like about 8.1 is better IE11 (includes stuff missing in the 7 version, including 1080p playback for youtube in HTML 5 format - which uses far less CPU than any other browser or Flash), faster shutdown-boot, less memory used and the better looking. I also don't like that since Windows 8, the Aero Glass was abandoned, as well as the classic start menu, but this can be easily fixed with Classic Shell. So, I switched back to Windows 7 (a slimmed version, as well) until newer updates for 8.1 (although Update 1 doesn't do much). But maybe this will help other people who really like 8.1 and don't mind what really matters in my case.

I was hoping the era when there was a driver for anything still exists (I remember the dv9000/dv9500 guide to downgrade from Vista to XP and there were some drivers that worked, people researched them, tested and posted them online). But as you said, it's an old laptop and it has barely any interest in doing stuff with it nowadays. The old days are in the past, I guess. Still, there will be a moment in the future when I'll have to say goodbye to my dv9000 as things start to devellop and I will surely need better specs even to surf online. But I really hope the multimedia concept of laptops will still exist at that moment, and I will find a good alternative for my dv9000 standards.

 

Dear members,
It's been over 6 years the last time I posted.
I still use this pavilion dv 9700 CTO as my daily driver besides a chrome book and a tablet for entertainment.

I installed win 8.1 Pro. Of course I prefer win 7 which far better than win 8 for the such a real laptop. But being retired my needs are far lighter and I have time to be patient with win 8. After all I have used all the flavors of windows since the beginning.

I am mainly an end-user.
As such I need the expertise and help of our community members for 2 issues.

I) I would like to replace one of my two HDD (the C: drive mostly) with a SSD.
I need to know if it is feasible (HP technical support says no, the notebook is too old) and what would be the specs of the SSD and the requirements.

ii) I could not removed my HDD because I damaged the tiny screws of the HDD cover! to the extend I really cannot unscrews them.
I intend to try a solution I found in another post of this forum "new bare bone with stripped screw.......(dated 5/17/2012).

Your opinion and advice's are important to me.
Tanks in advance for your assistance

 

You should have no issues using an SSD in your notebook. I’d suggest a Samsung 840 Evo in whichever capacity meets your needs ( see here). Just be aware of a couple of issues:

-- Your notebook is SATA II limited and therefore will not be able to take full advantage of the SATA III speeds offered by the Samsung SSD. You will still be amazed at the speed though.

-- Compute your drive capacity needs leaving at least 20% unformatted. This is to account for the over-provisioning requirements unique to SSDs. Some may suggest more, some less, but 20% is a good planning point. Example: 500GB EVO x .93 = 465GB usable in windows x .80 = 372GB usable partition c:, with 93GB unformatted and used for Over-Provisioning. There is also some unidentified spare area on the drive but don’t worry about that for now. So, if you need 250GB for programs and data this will leave you only 122GB free for growth. Plan accordingly.

As far as the screws, best of luck, but you can always find the parts you need on ebay.

Best… and Welcome Back, Dave

 

Thank you for your prompt input which I will implement.
Your suggestion of selecting the 840 Evo is the one I was thinking about. The 250 GB capacity will replace my actual 120 GB HDD which is not yet full. I'll have ample capacity for my needs, actual and projected.
I intend to get the Sabrent USB 3.0 To 2.5-Inch Sata Aluminum Hard Drive Enclosure to save the HDD.
I have an Image of this HDD on a external USB Seagate drive which I intend to put on the SSD through the Seagate Disk wizard. Is it the correct sequence to get on the SSD all the Apps and data ?

Thanks again

 

In your Sig…. you have that you’re DV9700t is running Vista Home Premium (64bit). From your discussion it seems as though it has been upgraded to Win7… then Win 8.1. Please clarify which OS you are planning on using.

The reason I ask is because your choice of OS will affect the operation and performance of your planned new SSD. If you read through this thread, you understand that the original poster had issues achieving AHCI mode with Win8. The reason this is important is because AHCI allows the OS to TRIM the SSD automatically. It’s not a huge deal because you can periodically Trim the SSD manually with the included Samsung Magician software but optimally it is nice if the OS does this operation for you in the background and this feature may not be available in Win8 on your unit.

Last, my suggestion to you is to not clone your OS and instead do a fresh OS install. This will clear all the junk that builds up over the years and likely minimize the size of the OS on your new SSD. Once you get the OS install complete ( drivers, updates, apps, etc.), you can then easily copy your data back from your original HDD via the external enclosure.

Best, Dave

 

Changed your Sig I see. Win 8.1 Pro (64) then. Got it.

Good Luck, Dave

 

Hi, You are very fast: It was late yesterday night and before answering your post I thought you were so right about my signature that it became my priority to update it.
Thank you for calling my attention regarding my signature.
.
In my configuration the C: drive houses the OS and various programs ( MS Office, HP printers...) and apps (HP,Seagate, Google for unlocking, rooting and trying custom made OS for my android toys..).
I do not recall the number of clean install I performed from Vista to Win 7, form Win 7 to Win 8 , back to Win 7, to Win 8.1.
I try to minimize the junk.
I make an image of the C: drive on a regular basis.
All the data, personal stuff are on the D: drive (another 120GB HD) which is the subject of regular backup.

But I have to consider your suggestion of doing a clean install because I think it is a wise idea.

Since I finally solve the issue of the screws without harm to the computer (and to me!) I am ready to try a SSD om my laptop.

Again thank you for your valuable input.

 

You're very welcome. Check back sometime and let us know how it goes.

Best, Dave