Windows Vista on HP notebooks (a how-to guide)

With Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system having reached the RTM stage, many are likely wondering about installing Vista on their HP notebooks. This guide will hopefully give you an idea of the various ways to go about this, and the current limitations of various methods.

Acquiring Vista
Before you can install Vista, of course, you need to acquire Vista. Currently, TAP partners, those with MSDN accounts, companies with Software Assurance licenses, and some connect beta testers have access to various versions of Vista. Soon, (I'm told early December) Microsoft will be releasing a 30 or 60 day trial version on the web for eveyone to access (this is the version I am using), and January 30, the software will be available in stores for consumer purchase. Those who purchased HP notebooks after October 26 are elligible for an Express Upgrade to Vista -- see here http://h20219.www2.hp.com/services/cache/427068-0-0-225-121.html

However you acquire Vista, you will need to determine which version of Vista you need. There are several different versions geared toward different users. Microsoft explains these differences in some detail here http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/editions/default.mspx. In general, I would recommend avoiding the Home Basic version unless your system does not support the Aero interface. In general, any Intel chipset BEFORE the GMA950 does NOT support aero. Most all recent Nvidia and ATI chipsets do.

All of the major versions of Vista also are available in both 32-bit and 64-bit (x64) versions. If you have a notebook that uses the Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Turion, mobile Athalon64, or mobile Sempron64 processors you may choose to install the 64-bit version. Otherwise, you must install the 32-bit version. This is not a choice to be made lightly. The 64-bit version features a highly protected kernel that should provide for enhanced security, however, there are many more program and hardware compatibility problems with the 64-bit version than with the 32-bit version. That said, Microsoft is demanding that partners make a more concerted effort to support 64-bit Vista than they did with XP, so, in time, these problems should go away.

Choosing an installation method
Now that you know what version you want to install, you have to decide how you want your system setup. You have three basic choices here: upgrading your existing Windows XP installation, replacing your exising Windows XP installation, or dual-booting, leaving both operating systems as options.

Upgrading your Windows XP installation is personally my least preferred installation method. Due to the number of changes in the OS kernel and API's provided by Vista, the possibility of software problems after an upgrade remains quite high. That said, Microsoft has done an excellent job with the software upgrade routine in Vista. When you insert the Vista disc while XP is running you will be given the option to upgrade. Before the installation proceeds, Vista will let you know most of the major programs you have that have known compatibility issues with Vista and even let you know if updates or workarounds are available. You need to uninstall any programs that have compatibility issues before proceeding with the upgrade. After doing so, and letting the upgrade run, you will have a Windows Vista system with most of your XP settings and all of your files in tact. It is still recommended that you backup critical files before hand, just in case something goes wrong. Just a note: you can only upgrade from a 32-bit Windows XP installation to a 32-bit Vista installation, and you cannot perform an upgrade to a version of Vista that doesn't have at least the same feature set as your version of XP has. See here http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeinfo.mspx for the specific upgrade rules.

Replacing your XP installation is the method many people will eventually use once all their programs have been updated to run on Vista. For now this method is definitely only for the more adventurous. You will lose all data and settings when performing this type of installation, so backing up your data is essential. Also, make sure you have installation files/discs for all of your software available because it will need to be reinstalled. Also, I highly recommend preparing the recovery discs from within XP beforehand, in case you want to go back. Additionally, I would backup your SwSetup directory to discs so that these files are readily available. To perform this type of installation insert the Vista disc and restart the computer. Press any key when prompted to boot from the Vista disc and you're off and running. When prompted where to install, you can either simply select the existing hard drive where XP is installed, in which case your data will technically be preserved, but so will all of your program files and things which will no longer be installed and are just taking up space. The better (and cleaner) option here is to select advanced disk options when Vista is asking you where to install, and select the format option to reformat the drive where you want Vista installed. This will delete EVERYTHING on your hard drive! But if you only want to run Vista then this is the best way to go... just be SURE you want to do this. Once done, click Next and Vista will start installing.

Setting up a dual-boot system is far and away my preferred way of installing Vista, at least for now. This is the only way of getting to use Vista without having to give up your XP installation that is hopefully working great with all of your software. The first step in doing this is to repartition your hard drive providing a clean space for your Vista installation. (You can also dual-boot by putting both operating systems on the same drive though I highly advise against this). To do this without losing data you will need a third-party disk management utility like Partition Magic or Acronis Disk Director Suite and at LEAST 15-20 GB of hard drive space to give to Vista. Before you run your partition software of choice, open a command prompt and run "chkdsk c: /f" without the quotes to fix the integrity problems that almost surely exist with your notebook's hard drive. Any attempt at resizing your XP partition will fail due to errors otherwise. Once that is done, restart and run your partition software. Shrink the XP partion, and create a new partition (primary or extended/logical) in the free space. I recommend at least 20 GB, although Vista will install as long as you have at least 15 GB. Be sure to format this new drive as NTFS. Let the program do its magic, restarting if necessary. When done, you will have a new drive ready for installing. Insert the Vista disc and restart. When prompted, select your new hard disc partion as the location to install Vista to, and click next. The installation will begin.

Note on the trial version: If you are installing the trial version of Vista, you can skip the screen where Vista asks for your product key. This will allow you to install any version of Vista as a 30-day trial. I HIGHLY recommend installing the version of Vista you plan on buying. This will allow you to simply enter the product key and activate once you purchase Vista. If you purchase a version of Vista other than the one you install, you wil need to install again.

The installation process
Vista's installation process is incredibly simple. Once you perform the above steps, you simply need to wait and let Vista do all the work. Eventually you will be brought to a thank you screen, at which point Vista will ask you to reboot at which point you will be up and running!

If you upgraded from XP, Vista will transfer your user accounts and programs for you. When Vista reboots, you will be brought to a login screen.

If you performed a dual-boot installation, a new menu will appear when your system starts allowing you to select either Vista or XP to run. Selecting Vista the first time, you will need to setup your primary user account and select your logon icon and desktop background. After this you will be brought to the logon screen.

If you performed a clean install over your XP installation, Vista will boot automatically, and you will need to setup your primary account and select your logon icon and desktop background. After this you will be brought to the logon screen.

Installing drivers
Vista has drivers for the vast majority of your hardware built-in. If your notebook features Intel integrated graphics, Microsoft's included video drivers will automatically be installed and, if you have GMA950 graphics you should already have the Aero interface available to you. If you have Nvidia or ATI graphics you should visit http://www.laptopvideo2go.com to download the latest Vista drivers for your brand of graphics chip and the .inf file that allows those drivers to be installed on mobile graphics chips. Once these drivers are installed, you should be able to go into the "personalize" control panel and change your theme to Vista Aero for the full grapics experience.

Some other drivers needed for HP notebooks are also not installed. If you backed up your SwSetup folder, or still have it available on your XP partition, you can install the card reader drivers and the Quicklaunch button drivers from there (if you installed 32-bit Vista only). If you installed 64-bit Vista, you will need to wait until HP posts the appropriate 64-bit drivers on their site. For some businessline models this has already been done. For consumer models, the Quicklaunch 64-bit files from the business downloads section of the HP website will work, however I have not yet found 64-bit drivers for the Ricoh card reader. The SD reader works without drivers, but the other card readers will need drivers to function.

I recommend going to http://www.synaptics.com and downloading the latest touchpad drivers for either 32-bit or 64-bit Windows. These drivers install fine in Vista and provide a much better experience than trying to use the touchpad with generic drivers.

Those with AMD processors may need additional drivers for their wireless LAN, etc. Wireless LAN and other drivers, if necessary, should be available on the vendor's website. Just download the XP drivers that correspond to your Vista version (either 32-bit or 64-bit), and you should be off and running. My system is a dv2000t with Core 2 Duo and nvidia graphics, so I don't know exactly what drivers other users might need, but Vista should be able to get at least up and running with just its included drivers.

Update on drivers: Windows update now features drivers for the touchpad and nvidia graphics (on x64). Likely these drivers, and possibly more, are available under 32-bit Vista. Thanks ThunderRiver for this info.

Installing your software
If you didn't perform an upgrade you will now need to reinstall all of your software. Certain programs like antivirus programs and other system utilities that you currently use will almost definitely NOT work with Vista. For a list of programs that do work with Vista, look here http://www.iexbeta.com/wiki/index.php/Windows_Vista_Software_Compatibility_List. Much of your other software will likely already work with Vista, though you will likely need the most recent version of such software. Some games, especially very recent ones, have issues with Vista's DirectX implementation. Updates to those games should be available in the coming months, but for now be aware that there are some games that you simply cannot play on Vista.

Congratulations!
If all has gone as planned, you should now have a working Vista installation on your HP notebook, complete with support for most/all of your hardware. As there are MANY guides on the internet that provide tips on making the most of Vista and customizing it to your liking I will skip this.

In general running Vista on a recent HP notebook should provide an excellent experience. There are just a few things to be aware of:

Battery life under Vista is currently not as good as it is under XP, especially if you have Windows Aero enabled. I have a dv2000t that gets approx. 3.5 hours battery life in Windows XP, but just under 3 hours with Vista. You can use the "max battery" setting under power settings to increase this, but your processor will run at reduced settings and the aero interface will be automatically turned off.

At the moment, the ExpressCard remote will not work under Vista. The needed drivers/software should be available from HP soon.

If your system uses certain HD audio codecs (such as that included in recent Intel notebooks) you will not have sound when the system resumes from standby. Again, updated drivers should bew available soon to address this. In the meantime, going into the device manager and disabling and then reenabling HD Audio under "sound, video, and game controllers" reenables the sound.

Those are the only major issues I've faced. If you have any others, post them in this thread and hopefully someone will be able to help!

 

Here's some pics of Vista running on a dv2000t.

-- desktop

-- system

-- internet explorer

-- media center

-- Word 2007

 

Good write up. Thanks!!!

EDIT: Dare I ask what the Windows Experience Index is?

 

Wow, great write up and thanks alot for putting the time out. I will be ordering a dv2000t soon, glad to see it running vista.

 

Good post!

I too plan on installing Vista on my DV2000T this weekend. I've been happily running it on my desktop computers for quite a while now.

I am guessing you have the 12 cell battery if you are getting 3.5 hours of life out of it. So far my 6 cell battery doesn't last very long at all.

 

Windows Experience Index is a rating system that looks at various parts of your system and rates them compared to other systems. For notebooks, the 3d graphics subscore will likely be the lowest, in this case 2.6, which becomes your overall score. Below is a pic of all the subscores for my dv2000t.



The idea is that software, especially games, can just list required and recommended WEI scores instead of the long list of requirements currently found on packaging.

 

I wonder if they have changed the rating system from RC2 to RTM. I have RC2 and it gives a base score of 3.0 with my V3000z(see sig) . If there isnt any changes then that is a low score for a Go 7200.

 

I BELIEVE they changed the rating system somewhat, as there seem to be more tests running on the 3D graphics test than there was before. That said, throughout the beta my scores have been all over the map depending on the drivers used. Also, 32-bit Windows always gave me a better score than 64-bit. I would assume that as the drivers get better, scores should go up accordingly. Supposedly, Nvidia will be releasing new drivers in the next few days. Hopefully, these will improve all Nvidia scores.

 

How does Aero run. Does it lag at all. I have the comp in sig, and I want to be able to run at the native res with no lag for aero.

 

Aero runs and looks great -- no lag, just more rapid battery drain. You'll need to install the modified nvidia drivers before you can turn on Aero, but once that's done, everything works great.

 

dont u need the sata drivers when installing?

 

Nope. Vista includes drivers for just about every onboard SATA controller available. If you for some reason need drivers for a disk controller, you can just download XP ones from the manufacturer (32-bit or 64-bit as necessary), and put them on either a blank CD or USB key in the root directory. The old F6 install disk method doesn't exist any more. Jusy click load drviers at the installation loacation screen, put in the disc or USB key and Windows should find and install the drivers on its own.

 

Do most programs that work with XP, work with Vista?

 

Appreciate the info jade. Maybe this post should be stickied.

 

Most of the drivers are installed via Windows Update in the final Vista build. Even the nVidia Geforce 7200 driver was installed via Windows Update, and Aero can then be enabled manually after reboot

The only two things that are currently messy on DV2000t are the audio driver and QuickPlay.

The default audio driver that comes with Vista doesn't have support for the built-in microphone. Worse, after suspend or hibernation, sound disappears. If you use the driver from Xp, it will work, but the microphone support is still extremely limited as the input volume is very low. People on the other end of Skype can barely hear me. It is definitely a driver issue.

For QuickPlay, don't even think about getting it to work under Vista if you did a clean install. Certainly the QP partition will not work. If you did an upgrade from Xp, QP (not partition) will work under Vista.

The best thing to do right now is stilll to wait for HP to release drivers for Vista although I myself can't wait for that and is currently typing this message under the RTM final build of Vista (Office beta tester gets final copy if he or she submits at least one bug).

 

Well, this really depends on what kind of programs you use. System utilities such as antivirus, disk partition, etc. DO NOT work, unless you use a version specifically designed for Vista. Most other kinds of programs DO work however. Games are somewhat hit and miss. DirectX 9.0L is included to support legacy games, however there are some recent games that have issues running right now. Game updates should be available around the consumer release of Vista for those games which have problems.

Thanks, I updated the original post to reflect this. Personally, I prefer modifying the latest nvidia drivers as opposed to using the Microsoft-supplied ones, but it certainly is easier to just download via Windows update.

 

Hello,

Has anyone gotten the webcam drivers to work with Vista 32-bit? It was working on build 5770, but not well. Video through Skype was unusable. I re-installed Vista with the RTM final version and now I can't get the webcam wokring at all. Anyone else having the same problem? I have a dv2000t.

 

The GMA950 gets a Gaming score of 3.0. (Not kidding).

 

Fantastic.... I intentionally get nVidia Geforce 7200 (to avoid GMA 950), and only got a gaming score of 2.7

jadedraverla, how do you like 64bit system so far? I can install it if I want to, but honestly, I don't see the point of it as there aren't that many apps that support 64 bit? Can Nero Burning support it? Is it really faster than 32 bit counter part? That is the question I tend to wonder. During beta testing, I am sure there is a certain number of testers use 64-bit, but my guess is that the main focus remains at 32-bit side.

 

Well, I'm using Vista x64 final and the webcam is working fine with the included Microsoft drivers. For some reason I had to install the Sonix driver (manufacturer driver) which didn't work at all and slowed the system down substantially, then revert back to the Microsoft driver, and the webcam works great. On past builds I've not had to do this, and the Microsoft drivers have worked fine immediately after installing, so I'm not sure what was keeping the webcam from starting this time.

Yeah, rating the GMA950 higher than Geforce 7200 is really odd. My guess is that the nvidia drivers are still VERY immature for Vista, and I'd assume this should change as Vista's consumer release nears.

As for 64-bit, there are a certain number of issues that aren't as easy to work around. AFAIK, there are no 64-bit card reader drivers or alternate sound card drivers that avoid the annoying lose sound after resume bug. If neither of those is a deal-breaker, then the 64-bit definitely has its advantages -- increased security, protected kernel, etc. You have to make sure you have appropriate 64-bit antivirus software, but I haven't had many problems with other kinds of software. Nero works great (7.5.7.0 specifically fixes most Vista compatibility problems), iTunes works great, Daemon Tools x64 works great. Really the only program that has any issues I've noticed is Divx Player, but that's just an issue with a .dll that only effects the player itself, not the codec, so videos play fine through Media Player or other software.

Otherwise, I think most new software for Vista will start to take at least some advantage of x64 capabilities. Office 2007 already has some x64-specific files that are installed if your OS is 64-bit. I would think that when Adobe and other companies release their next big updates designed for Vista then they too will likely provide enhancements for the x64 architecture.

In the meantime, the speed definitely isn't slower, but any speed increase is at most negligible.

 

so how many processes are you running, and how much physical memory and virtual memory is vista using at idle. and how much space did the initial vista installation take up?

 

Well, I never bothered to look at the amount of space taken up by the actual Vista installation, sorry about that. With Vista, Office, and most of my other programs installed, I'm using just shy of 17 GB but I believe Vista by itself is closer to 12 GB -- still a massive OS. I have 51 processes running, with iTunes, Internet Explorer, Symantec Antivirus, and all my device drivers loaded.

Task manager shows around 850 MB of physical memory used, and 960 MB of page file used, however Vista is MUCH better than XP at optimizing its memory usage so you will usually find most of your memory used (especially with 1 GB or less physical memory) at any time, but the OS quickly releases memory as needed to applications so comparisons to XP are never really valid.

Hope this helps.

 

it certainly does help and very interesting...
is that version of vista using ntfs of winfs?
have you seen AERO work on intel GMA 950 yet?
i didn't shell out the extra dough for the nvidia card because of battery life so wondering if it is good enough for smooth usage of AERO

thanks

 

WinFS, as it was originally conceived, has been scrapped. (See the WinFS team blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/winfs/archive/2006/06/23/644706.aspx.) Some of the components, such as the advanced indexing service, have been rolled into Vista, and supposedly more will be in the future, but they will all be services that run on top of NTFS.

I have seen Vista (back at the RC1 stage I think) running on a desktop GMA950 system, and didn't notice any lag with aero. I don't have regular access to a system that uses Intel graphics so I haven't seen a more recent version, but from what I have seen and heard you should have no problem. From my experience, aero really doesn't require very much power -- it just needs at least shader model 2.0 and some other features only found more recent graphics cards. Moreover, at the moment, Vista gives GMA950 a higher graphics score than the Nvidia 7200 (likely due to immature Nvidia drivers not optimized for notebooks).

 

Well, that's expected. Internally at Microsoft, I do not see a lot of interaction between Microsoft and nVidia. I do see a lot more compatibility support between Microsoft and ATI. That's not to say that nVidia does not get any support from Microsoft, but it clearly shows how much nVidia is truly committed to Vista.

Internally, you see all the list of ATI, Via, S3, Intel cards that support Vista. When it comes to nVidia, you see absolutely nothing, or a link to nVidia site.

Personally, I regret often about having an nVidia card. In the past, I have experienced nothing but troubles from nVidia. In contrary to popular view, I had absolutely no issues with ATI. But that's just me. If IBM Thinkpad T series is actually a widescreen (it comes with Radeon 1300 or 1400), I would have gone with Thinkpad in a heartbeat heh.

For what it is worth, I cross my fingers and hope that HP will make Vista work on existing DV2000T laptops. It is a nice laptop, so HP better not messes this one up.

 

Personally, I try not be fanboy of any particular brands, but I tend to agree about nvidia's driver support. I don't find their drivers generally to be of poor quality, but their beta drivers for Vista have been lacking throughout the beta. My two desktop systems that use ATI cards, on the other hand, have worked great throughout the beta. Despite many people's hating on ATI Catalyst Control Center and poor OpenGL implementation, their driver's have worked better for me (in Vista especially) than anything nvidia has put out.

As for worrying about HP, maybe I'm just too optimistic, but the dv2000 series is current and should be shipping with Vista in February. It would be outrageous of HP to do all the work of testing new drivers and application updates for the dv2000 series in order to preload Vista onto machines but not provide existing users with those same updates. Plus, they participate in the Express Upgrade program to Vista, and those users will NEED to be provided with updated drivers -- after all, HP will be providing the support for those users, and I'm sure they don't want to hire half the population of India to handle the complaint calls.

 

Just an update: laptopvideo2go.com now has nvidia 97.27 drivers posted. They didn't fully test them though, and don't work the same way as previous releases. Nvidia has changed the .inf files included so the .inf file you download to recognize notebook cards doesn't end up replacing any of them. You can still install the driver, though, by placing the .inf file in the install directory along with the others, then going into device manager, display adapter. Select the Nvidia display adapter, right click, select update driver. Choose to "browse my computer", then "Let me pick from a list...", the "Have disk." Finally go to the directory with the updated drivers and select the "nv_disp.inf" file and your card should be recognized and installed.

As an aside, I'm not sure why the change in the way Nvidia formats their drivers. Hopefully it means they are getting closer to final drivers, but my Windows Experience Index score for 3d graphics is still a pathetic 2.6 Oh well.

 

Hello,

I don't know if this is right forum, but I have a big problem:

I have installed a fresh Vista Final on my HP nx7000, it works fine except some media player lectures... So I decided to Install XP back, but I cannot do it!

If I try install XP from Vista (running setup.exe), it says that system installed is newer and setup cannot continue, if I want to boot from XP bootable CD my computer stops responding.
The last thing I see on my screen is "Inspecting your computer's hardware configuration...", then it becomes blank and HDD LED is lighting (not blinking) without hearing some disk activity...

I have already tried other bootable XP versions (no success), I've also run HDD Self-test from HP bios - no problems found...

If I insert bootable Vista CD installation works without problems...
I think that Vista changed some sector on my hdd or something.. which is preventing me from booting XP installation

Any ideas how to fix problem? I will be very grateful, because I realy need my laptop ASAP! Thank you a lot!

Dejan

 

Well, there's really two problems there.

First of all, as for the lectures not playing, there are two likely causes. It could be that your lectures are using a content protection system that doesn't work with WMP11 in Vista. I've seen a number of DRM-infected files that use an older protection and don't work in Vista. But really, I don't know why your school would protect lectures so I'm going to say the other scenario is more likely. WMP 11 in Vista does not include some of older and rarely used codecs that were included in previous versions. In that case, you can either download the appropriate codec (if you know what it is and if it is available) or install an alternate media player like VLC that MAY support the codec you need. Personally, I would try installing VLC first and seeing if you can play the files that way.

If that doesn't work, or you just want to go back to XP, then you've obviously discovered a second problem. If this is what you really want to do you may want to start a new thread about that problem, to get more people to see it, because I'm not sure if I can help you too much there.

What I would say is that if you have either a recovery partition or recovery CDs/DVDs, those are BY FAR the easiest methods of getting XP back up and running. You'll lose all your data (so backup first) and you'll get all of HPs bloatware back, but it will get your notebook back to its original condition. Otherwise, it sounds like you have a device in your system that is locking up XPs install process. As I don't believe the nx7000 ever used an SATA hard drive (which could also cause this problem) that's my best guess. Make sure you have the latest BIOS, and disable anything you don't need while installing XP in the BIOS and try again. Trying to clean install XP on a notebook is often a problematic process, but I'm sure there are people here who have done it on a system like yours.

 

I just got my laptop dv2000t w/nvidia 7200. I installed Vista (RTM) and in the new Nvidia Control Panel, there are only 2 options. 1 - 3d configuration 2 - dislpay configuration. Thats it! I am assumng the ForceWare Version 97.19 doesnt include other options yet? I cant adjust color, digital vibrance, etc.

 

for some reason my mute/unmute button stays lit (like the way it will be when mute is on) but the its still toggling the mute and unmute just fine...just that the light doesnt change back to blue..

my laptop is in sig.

can anyone explain this?

 

First, let me say that the dv2000t runs Vista beautifully. Aero glass looks amazing and almost everything worked with the upgrade. I only problem I came across was with the webcam and the omni directional microphone. Vista sees the webcam and lists it under imaging devices as usb 2.0 camera, but it will not recognize it anywhere else. I tried using the hp driver on the website and I've done some digging and found a sonix driver that was supposed to work, but did not. As for the microphone, no luck at all either (I believe this may be because the webcam isn't working though. I think they are connected). Has anyone else had these issues? Any solutions? Let me know if you need more info. Thanks in advance!

- Intel(R) Core(TM) Duo processor T2400 (1.83 GHz)
- 14.1" WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x800)
- 128MB NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 7200
- 1.0GB DDR2 SDRAM (2x512MB)
- 80 GB 5400 RPM
- Super Multi 8X DVD+/-R/RW w/Double Layer Support
- Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network w/Bluetooth
- 12 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
- HP Mobile Remote Control
- HP IMPRINT Finish + Microphone + Webcam

 

ae how did u get vista already?
or is that one of the beta versions or business?

 

I was a beta tester. We received the final version awhile ago, along with an ultimate key (or some of us did anyway). I installed that on my desktop and installed a 30-day trial of Vista Home Premium on my notebook until I can buy a license on Jan. 30 to activate it.

There's two things to consider. One is make sure you install the latest Vista-ready Quickplay button drivers from HP's website (I haven't looked today, but last week they were posted in the dv6000t CTO section). The second problem is that HP hasn't posted Conexant HD audio drivers yet. The Microsoft-included drivers kind fo work, but have a number of problems (no sound after resume from standby, muting issues, etc.). If you are using Vista x64, you are screwed at the moment. If you are using 32-bit Vista, then download their new Vista driver from here.

The webcam is a little tricky to get working. I did it by force installing the standard HP drivers (even on Vista x64). Rebooted -- major problems with that driver obviously. Then, I went to device manager and told it to use the Microsoft driver again. Rebooted, and they work. No idea why. Not sure if that will work for everyone... but it did for me.

Nvidia's Vista drivers still are lacking a number of features of their XP counterparts. Hopefully, they'll get those caught up shortly affter the Vista consumer release. In the meantime, it's a little disappointing.

Hope that helps everyone.

 

I went to order my express upgrade and it was only for the 32-bit version of vista. I take it they are not offering the x64 with express upgrade?

 

Ummmm... is there any way I can get Vista now, like what u guys are doin? Cuz the hp dv6000t that i ordered comes with a free upgrade to vista, but i heard i wont get it till like May.
Any way to get it earlier?

 

That is correct. Only systems that initially shipped with Xp x64 are getting upgrades to Vista Business x64 -- the others are only getting a free upgrade to the corresponding 32-bit edition. My understanding is that this is due mainly to the support costs of having to support x64 issues, as well as having to support "clean install" upgrade scenarios via tech support. Also, I don't think all manufacturers will be preinstalling Vista x64 on new systems, especially within their consumer lines.

Well, the upgrades will be sent out in the order they are accepted by the fulfillment company. So, I would fill out the form and then send them the required materials ASAP. Also, I would guess that the first batches will go out at the beginning of March, with more batches going out fairly frequently after that. (They do need to keep them a little spread out for tech support reasons). If you really want it earlier, you can always buy it starting January 30 -- they also MAY offer a trial version for download that you can install while waiting for your order to arrive.

 

Well that sucks, maybe i should have waited till February to buy a notebook that has vista already installed in it...

 

Not in Vista x64. But that should be fixed on Vista 32-bit if you download the updated sound driver I linked to earlier in this thread. If that still doesn't fix the problem, then you may have to wait a week or so for the HP specific sound driver to be released on their site.

 

Hmm... I had no one quotation in device manager on mine nx9420, but some problems...
I cant run Firefox 2.0- every time I install it successfully, but after first restart it stops working...
Also I had installed connectivity wizard by HP but it dissappears and stops working after every restart...
Aslo Acrobat 7 cant work, but Acrobat 8 can...
Display driver runs monitor on 59Hz and ATI control panel not working but driver runs ok...

 

I was sitting in my MIS class today and the instructor said we are collaborating with Microsoft and they might upload Vista for our class to download and demo...that would be sweeet.

 

dude could u somehow give it to us to install?

 

haha i'll do my best...it will probably be done by some sort of ftp like ssh secure shell but if it could becomes accessible i'll let you know.

 

I bought my DV2109tx early October.. I guess that means I wont get Vista upgrade

Oh well

 

I have the Vista RTM version which is the last version that will be rolled out to customers. It works like a champ and the appearance is sweet.

 

hey so how can we download and install it?

 

i'll keep you apprised.

 

ok lol

 

Do we know if HP is going to release drivers for the 64bit version of Vista? If they arent planning on letting us have the OS we want for the machines we have I guess I will never own Vista. It being a 64bit OS and me having a 64bit CPU would be the only reason for me to swap. Otherwise XP runs just fine.