Windows 8 on the HP ENVY 15t-3000

I just got early access to the Windows 8 RTM (x64 Professional) and I decided to take a leap with a clean install.

The installation process is not too different from Windows 7. Most of the drivers installed automatically, but I am left with two major issues: graphics drivers and display brightness.

The AMD package provided on HP's website for Windows 7 fails to install on Windows 8. The Catalyst drivers from AMD's website do not work either since they are not designed for switchable graphics. My computer is stuck on Intel Integrated and even that doesn't seem to have the latest version.

The system brightness is also stuck at 100%. I've tried just about everything including installing the HP On Screen Controls, but nothing seems to work. Others seem to have the same issue.

Everything else from the WiFi, Audio (even the Beats knob and mute), touchpad, SD card reader, keyboard backlight, and webcam work right out of the box. However, I did have to install the Renesas USB 3.0 drivers to get the two ports on the left working.

Has anyone had any luck with graphics drivers or solving the display brightness issue with Windows 8 RTM on the ENVY 15t-3000?

Any help would be awesome.

 

Not until we have proper drivers from HP, or modders like Leshcat:
LESHCATLABS.NET
He is set to release windows 8 drivers any day now. He released them for a short time the other day and then yanked them for windows 7 issues. There are some DIY hacky solutions out there, but they don't work well at all, in my experience.

Once proper drivers are installed, I think brightness controls will start working as well.

 

Thanks! I hadn't heard of Leshcat. This is really painful not having the proper graphics enabled. Even simple things like playing a video has significant frame loss.

If you have any other suggestions in the meantime, that would be helpful too.

 

Looks like Leshcatlabs just released the new drivers with Windows 8 compatibility.

Just installed them and it works like a charm so far. However, the bottom right hand corner of my desktop now says "Test Mode, Windows 8 Pro, Build 9200". Anyone have any idea how to get rid of that?

Thanks!

 

Because the drivers aren't signed, it requires driver signature enforcement to be disabled, hence the test mode. Aside from dll hacking, I don't know how to remove the watermark without additionally killing off the driver.

I'm still trying to get them installed....my ATI card refuses to use his drivers. I keep getting file not found when manually updating it.

 

I hacked out test mode watermark, but haven't tested it.

These go into windows/system32/en-US.

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/2056318/hacked.zip

Make a restore point first.

 

Windows 8 display drivers for the envy 15 3xxx came out earlier today

http://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp58501-59000/sp58815.exe

I can say that the switchable graphics are working very well in windows 8 and switching is even faster than in win7. I still have to test a few games to see if there's any loss or gain in performance. The only problem seems to be that brightness is still stuck at max. Let's hope this gets solved early because everything else seems to be running flawlessly. So far it's been a fairly pain-free upgrade to windows 8.

 

Hey guys, updating my Envy 15 3040nr up to Windows 8 right now. I'm downloading the latest official HP release for graphics drivers and LESHCat's latest public test at the moment. I'm not seeing anything technical on LESHCat's site that details any additional benefits of using his drivers over updated OEM drivers, so I am thinking of going with HP on this one. Raul_219, I notice you have the same model, but judging by the fact you were using Win 8 yesterday I assume you weren't using a retail copy. Even so, have you tried LESHCat's drivers and had any improvements? Thanks.

 

I fixed the brightness in HP's official drivers that they obviously don't know how to build:

http://adrynalyne.blogspot.com/2012/10/fix-brightness-control-for-windows-8.html

Its a reghack, so they stay signed, official, and all that.

You can also use the same method I did to find the correct registry value if your values are different from mine.

 

Hi All

I have the Envy 3200 with the 7750 graphics card. I tried the drivers that raul 219 posted but they still do not work. Case in point, I load up guildwars 2 and the graphics card will not switch from integrated - thus cutting my framerate by 75%.

I also tried the drivers from ATIs website (but they won't install) and the old drivers from HP's website and no go.

Any ideas?

 

[27 October 2012 12:54] -- Jagdip R says:
The compatible graphics driver for Windows 8 is missing from the notebook, which is why it is not allowing you to switch to use your 7750m card.

[27 October 2012 12:55] -- XXXXX says:
When will it be released? Is there a work-around?

[27 October 2012 12:55] -- Jagdip R says:
So you will have to wait until the graphics card gets released for this notebook.

[27 October 2012 12:57] -- Jagdip R says:
The Windows 8 has released today itself. So it will take a week time at least to release all the compatible drivers.

 

If anyone has been successful with their install, can they please post the steps in doing so? and what drivers/ software not to install anymore on win 8?

so far i only have the amd running on this