dv6t-61XX / dv7t-61XX Switchable Graphics Discussion

What?

Would it don't have any problems?

The BIOS enables fixed mode switching on any 61XX Intel dv6/7. For the hundredth time.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...hable-graphics-discussion-89.html#post7644435

PM EzerchE for other questions about it.

 

ok that means the problem is fixed but i will be stuck with the 6770 gpu all the time so less battary time

what i'm asking isn't there any new problem with the dv6-6177 ? or any new problem resulted from the bios update ( for ex. serious over heating bcuz of using the 6770 gpu all the time which may affect the laptop.. or anything else )

 

No. Please read. Fixed mode does NOT mean the 6770 is on all the time. You can turn it on and off manually, or you can set it to turn on and off depending on whether the pc is plugged in or not. Also, running the GPU 100% of the time would still not cause an overheating situation.

 

i'm sorry but my english is not very good

so now there is no problem at all
am i right ?

 

Correct, no problems at all.

 

thnx alot

.

 

Thanks.. appreciate it.

 

with this whole "everything is fine" after the 11.8 install...Is anyone running an external display they cannot rotate? All my options are greyed out under ccc. I can only adjust resolution through the Intel HD Graphics panel which makes no sense, and there's no rotation supported there either. any help?

 

I'm hoping all the guru's haven't left this thread, I've updated BIOs and OpenGL works great and blah blah blah... BUT, I am occasionally getting the BSOD. I believe my ATI Display driver is crashing. I have updated the driver and everything yet at times the screen blinks and then I get the blue screen. I believe it is atikmpag.sys that the screen references. Help me?

EDIT: After installing hotfixes found on the ATI website, I've stopped getting the blue screen of death upon use of the VGA port. (so far) Although I have had one screen flicker. Is this the display driver restarting? I wasn't even doing anything graphically intensive, I was just watching a youtube video and I also had an external monitor plugged in. Is there a fix for this?

 

HI
I am new in your forum and I really do not know is this a right place for these questions or not...
actualy I want to buy a new laptop from hp and I see 6090 and 6199 information ....
but I heard these models have graphic switching problem and they just use intel is it right?
so I want to know is ther any definite way to sole this problem?
and wich model of 6XXX and 61XX do not have this kind of problem?
thank you

 

abinari,
I would not buy any of these products. the support is horrible. at the very fundamental level, it makes no sense to have an Intel CPU and integrated Graphics mixed with an AMD product. I did not realize AMD had acquired ATI and took a stupid stupid chance of ordering something without NVIDIA. AMD does not support the product. hp does not support the product. HP is selling their computing and tablet platforms. I dont knwo where my next option is, but I do know for certain it wont be hp.

 

what went wrong with your purchase? HP apsolutely supports their products so i have no idea you're talking about

 

WHAT exactly are you talking about?!? ... At the very fundamental level, you are obviously WAY out of your league making any technical assessment.

 

I think he just complaining about software support for the graphic card.
So, hes thinking about hardware without software support is stupidity.

HP supports only on HP side of things.
AMD offer no support to Intel switchable, so you are pretty much taking a risk of possible damage, headaches, and a good excuse for HP to void warranties (if they find out) when you use the normal AMD drivers to update.

If he managed to find a problem or come across a problem, he is pretty much on his own. He cannot request any on the fly hotfixes from AMD, if it not a typical problem.

In the end, it shouldn't matter as much, most of us gets a new machines after a year of tinkering anyways.

 

I'm 12 years old and what is this?

Seriously, this makes no sense.

 

It may not be a Harvard dissertation but it sounds pretty understandable to me.

There's 2 graphics cards from 2 different companies. And updating them seems to be a hassle. Getting support for them apparently was a hassle for the person and therefore he doesn't think HP deserves his business anymore.

Thats his opinion and he's entitled to it.

 

This post is seriously lacking credible information I can only conclude that it is a troll. you're entitled to your opinion, and you may have even had a bad experience, but the weight of evidence does not support this. The blend of an Intel CPU, with integrated graphics, and a dedicated grahics card from AMD works and work well, and is fully supported in both the Envy and DV platforms. Moreover, the comment about HP is so lacking in accuracy or even useful conjecture that I recommend that folks just ignore it.

 

It's no different than any other laptop.

There is such a thing as a wrong opinion.

 

Yes indeed. One is always entitled to an opinion, but that does not make them true. For example, the opinion that HP does not support mixed graphics is patently false, but is an amusing distortion. the opinion that AMD discrete graphics should never be combined with an Intel processor is also an interesting opinon, but that doesn't change the fact that the combination is proven succesful -- and also supported.

 

There is no problem for 60XX model since it come with a manual switching graphic. You can switch it anytime.

As for 61XX there is a problem switching to AMD HD6770M in OpenGL mode when u are using auto switchable but the problem has been solved with a BIOS update last month and now 61XX model will have both auto and manual switch capability.

@theexception
lame troll.

 

If this thread were not already stickied, I would ask for it to be but some just can't find the answers even in a sticky thread in black and white.

READ THE FIRST POST!!!
http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...itchable-graphics-discussion.html#post7559885

Lame? I'll bet on that. Troll? Too insignificant to be a troll.

 

yes, going direct to the OE to update drivers can be perilous. its always best to follow HP's advice, which by the way can include recommendations to go to the OE. for example, HP recommends going direct to Intel for SSD firmware and related optimization tools.

Keep in mind that the HP side of things means the entire computer with the shipped driver set (and/or updates from HP), which may or may not contain OE drivers from the likes of Intel and AMD. But these drivers are chosen by HP and tested, and are sometimes different than what you can obtain directly from the OE. going outside of the driver set supplied by HP may be fun, but you are absolutely right that you do so at your own peril.

I understand the motivation to think that one can go outside of the hp tested driver set and obtain some improvement. several have tinkered in this way, for example with the likes of intel wireless drivers. But it is my opinion that its better to try and hold hp accountable for something not working right, instead of trying to fix it yourself by going rogue. the latter may work, and hats off to those who have done so succesfully.

if the HP-supplied configuration does not work as advertised then you are under no obligation to keep the computer. of course, this means one has to invest some time in research and testing so that the 21 day return policy can be used. But waiving this return option by letting the 21 day return option expire is a decision that you take responsibility for. once this expires, the computer is yours and you are committed to using the hp support resources to resolve any difficulties. It's true that it can be arduous, but it is no more arduous than any of HPs competitors, and is often successful. for example, some of the Envy machines with SSDs came configured incorrectly with RAID0 from the factory. Some successfully corrected this themselves, and some utilized the support resolutions process to get HP to fix it for them.

But it is not accurate to suggest that HP might void hardware warranties if they find out that some non-blessed driver has been used. All HP has to do, when this is evident, is recommend that you return the laptop to the as-shipped configuration with a system restore, and/or the latest drivers from the hp website. Thats the configuration HP is obligated to support. Asking the support process for help with a problem they didn't cause, with a driver they didn't supply is, well, not likely to succeed.

 

Ok so yes, it’s been about 20 years since I’ve been on a forum. So, I have no idea what a troll is. When I was building systems at that time, many a month, when drivers actually mattered, there were competitors in technology. I think the main processor contributors at that time were Intel, AMD and Cyrex or something like that. Anyway, one of them got bumped off and another has been chasing Intel for quite a while.
On the graphics card side, there were many competitors and the playing field eventually evolved into ATI and NVIDIA.
Irrespective of technologies evolving and companies dissolving or being acquired, I have always been an early adopter, and have been able to keep a handle on technologies that I purchased in terms of making sure they were installed properly and working well.
What I mean when I say HP does not support their products is: when you call HP and mention to them you are having graphics problems, they suggest you call AMD/ATI. This is true, not an opinion.
AMD level 2 technical support referred me to HP. True again.
HP is nixing a few of their electronics lines for those that don’t know. If they sell the computer division, I will let everyone come to their own conclusions what that will mean in terms of support.
HP kills mobile business, consider selling PC division
What I mean when I say that there should not be competing technologies Intel/AMD in a system is simply that: it makes no sense that a company that competes with another company for business would agree to have components in a system containing a competitor’s product – CPU OR GPU side. Therefore, it is wrong of anyone to expect a single company to be able to support all requirements of a mix-matched system. Since no single source can offer support, this product should not have been marketed or sold - Period. Not an opinion; simple logic.
As evidenced by a max exodus of HP buyers via other forums and web searching, there are problems with the 6770m setup in the DV6t. If people want to ignore that, that is their prerogative.
As a suggestion for those who are putting together these kinds of systems in the future, try to stay in touch with your customer. Having 3 separate resolution settings one through Windows, one through Intel and one through AMD/ATI CCC (although not working on my system) does not make sense. Having a 2GB card in system and thinking a user who would pay for that would ever like to use an integrated card rather than having other power saving options for longer battery life does not make sense. Putting competing technologies in the same product does not make sense.
If someone has legitimate help for the issues I’m facing regarding screen rotation, desktop sizing and resolution adjustment, I am happy to hear recommendations on the overclocking forum where my original post is.
Abinari asked in his post if there was any way to solve the problems he’s heard about. This information was going to be used to influence his buying decision. I am not sharing an opinion. I am letting him know, based on my experience, I would not buy one again. The problems are not resolved with the dual graphics setup in this machine.
Users, even those I have praised as helpful in the past, thanks for all the kind words.

 

I aknowledge that there will always be examples from any mfg where support run-around occurs when a mixed brand solution is involved. That there are examples of systems from any of the major mfgs not working well in certain areas, thats true too, but again it does not obligate the buyer to purchase them or keep them, at least in HPs case. That there are flakey solutions that slip through into the buying pubilc is also true. thats why, especially in the case of HP's 21 day return policy, one has to do some acceptance testing. Its a fabulous way for the buyer to test and verify, and accept the machine only if it meets YOUR criteria. frankly its what keeps me looking at HP. I found that one has to excersize considerably more caution today than five years back. my 5-year old DV series is still working and I didn't test it nearly as hard as I did my recent DV7 purchase.

oh, and I acknowlege that many a published opinion out there suggests that HP is selling its PC business. thats all I'm gonna say except to point out that there are too many people that believe everthing they read, and trust sources without verification. its all good amusing conjecture, but without the facts, thats all it is. while we're at it, the conjecture should include contemplating what $$ value would be placed on the largest PC business in the world, and who would pony up that much.

the dual graphics setup in the 61xx series DV7 has been solved to my satisfaction. that is both a truth and an opinion. I tested during the 21 day return period and accepted the machine as shipped from HP. Earlier Dv6-7 machines not so good, that is true, and was the case for competitors' switchable graphics solutions as well. out of the chute they didn't work as advertised. people bought them, trusting without testing, and got stuck. I get that, but holy cow folks in this day and age with vanishing margins and products pushed to market quickly, you gotta test and make sure you get what you paid for. folks should have sent them back. Many of us waited for confirmation that the hardware issues were solved before buying.

I even sent my first DV7 back, due to a screen flaw that was probably within HP's cosmetic specs. I wasn't about to go through the support process and fight that, so the problem is solved quite simply: send it back and order a new one. now my Dv7 has a perfect display. voila

So the graphics issues are ironed out in the DV series, largely,but one has to ask, with all due respect: why didn't you notice the screen rotation and related issues while you could have returned your DV6? did you trust without fully testing? I get that to some extent we all have to do that, but without testing the important use cases, and then trusting that the mfg will solve them is just not a realistic expectation in todays world. as sad as that is, its a reality, at least in my opinion.

It is unfortunate that the support process is as arduous as it is. but folks who are persistent with issues clearly demonstrating that the product does not perform as advertize, are largely succesful. I guess you're saying you've tried HPs resolutions, asked for esceslations, etc. and not just accepting the opinion of the first-line rep who reads a script.

I also acknowlege that some mixed-brand solutions give one pause, but that doesn't mean they can't work if the mfg certifies it to work and supports it. Such is the case with the DV7 61xx. I can report that to my satisfaction that AMD mixed-brand switchable graphics works well in the DV7 61xx. I've tested with OpenGL and proven that I can switch graphics at will.

now then, none of hindsight will fix your problem, which I acknowledge is most unfortuante. again -- you have called HP resolutions directly? you have returned the laptop to HP-shipped configuration, including hp-recommended drivers? and HP is not taking any ownership of the solution that they have guarenteed to work? without questioning your own experience that does surprise me. the laptop either works as advertized or it doesn't. And I guess if you are depending on a functionality that HP has not committed to (or backing away from), then you may be stuck indeed, which is most unfortunate. There may be no solution to an issue that is native to the machine from day one and that you accepted.

btw If you knew what competing technolgies are present (or used to be) in certain HDDs you wouldn't buy another HDD ever. mixed brand solutions happen because mfgs want to make money.

 

If you didn't believe in mixed brand, why would you ever buy a computer? How would Intel/Nvidia be any better than Intel/AMD?

 

Thanks. That input is a lot more reasonable. A bunch of unfortunates, but yes I am ultimately to blame for the purchase as i mentioned in my original post on this forum. HP is ultimately to blame for putting together this disastrous configuration. Buyer beware does still exist in the US, and I understand that.
The fact that I will not buy HP again is a decision. A company should not rely on a policy that a product can be returned as some onus on a purchaser to do product testing. Most of these policies are designed based on cost savings and ultimately will drive customers away because we are tired of it.
It's the same way with a bank and how they decide how many tellers to put to handle the lines. If they estimate the cost of a customer leaving due to their lack of service as less than the cost of hiring another teller, then they will screw the customer. Same deal here. They are waiting for folks to turn away until it costs them too much.
Just put together a product that is solid and fully supported, it’s not that hard.

 

first: I didn't look, my mistake, my last i7 DV6T had 1GB NVIDIA (exclusively).

second: Intel and NVIDIA haven't competed for years and to this day on the CPU technolgy side. AMD and Intel have competed for years on CPU side. NVIDIA and ATI/AMD have competed for modular graphics card GPU market share.

just a bad move, unsound on the fundamental level.

 

I'm not sure HP is relying on this ,but it happens to be a policy that is very favorable to the consumer, should they intelligently take advantage of it. try before you buy is not new.

In my opinion, no. such a policy may increase first-time sales, but I doubt customers will tire of the ability to return a product with no questions asked. In order to make such a conclusion one would have to show that HP's quality is substantially worse than the competition and that it relies on the program to snooker customers into buying crappy things. I think the weight of evidence is that this is a positive differentiator, not a k-mart mentality.

welcome to the way high tech business works in this day and age, to reduce costs and make products profitable enough to sell them. especially commodites like PCs. learn the rules and play the game to your advantage.

 

well the AMD switchable solution has proven much more succesful than the NVIDIA solution, thats for sure. and AMD makes its graphics products switchable because they want to sell graphics cards , even to people who choose Intel processors. one can argue the merits, but one can't argue the success, at least of the most recent Intel/AMD switchable graphics in the DV7.

on edit: apparently you and HP disagree on what the fundamentals are. HP makes decisions based on market demand, supply chain commitments, and design opportunities vs constraints. for HP and its competitors, the fundamentals are more about market demand and less about brand purity which would be a very unsound and non-profitable idealogy.

 

So do you think that one or the other company is purposely causing problems or refusing to play nice? To what end? I'm just trying to smoke out this conspiracy theory.

 

if you call normal competition a conspiracy, then of course this is happening.

 

Normal competition doesn't include hamstringing your partners in order to...do something that you still haven't explained. AMD refusing to play nice with Intel products helps them how?

 

Opine conjecture will not win arguments. The troll is that is trolling is getting bites, but needs to get bit and go troll elsewhere.

"The right to be heard does not include the right to be taken seriously." ~ Hubert H. Humphrey

 

I have the DV6T QE 6100 core i7 2630M, Ram 6gb and HD 6770M 2gb. When I use Revit Architecture 2012 x64 ( just a small project 20mb), even if I switch my revit into high performance, it's still crashed, and even my dv6 turn out to blue screen. How could the Core Dual with 4gb ram in my class work fine with revit but my core i7 6gb ram can't work with revit? Could anybody help me

 

Autodesk - Autodesk Revit Architecture Services & Support - Verify your driver is recommended or certified graphics hardware

Autodesk - Certified Hardware - Find Graphics Hardware

The HD 6770M is not certified... but the Intel IGP is... Autodesk in the above is pretty much saying "sorry Charlie" if it does not work with your graphics.

Try the following and tell me if that works.

• Make sure that Revit is updated - Autodesk - Autodesk Revit Architecture Services & Support - Updates
• Install the 'DirectX End-User Runtimes' -Download Details - Microsoft Download Center - DirectX Redist (June 2010)

 

i dont know is it a card error or it s because of my ram and processor. When i chek a Dell with 4gb ram of my friend,the revit 64bit used 500mb ram. But my hp started
revit with 1gb ram and then worked with 4,3gb ram for revit,then it crashed. Please help me

 

I'll just go with the idea that my previous post was ignored. Rock on dewd.

 

well, I've updated my revit and when I install an Intel drive, it says that my computer does not meet the minimum.... I guess my Intel drive is up to date. wELL, I said I guess that because of my OS, not my graphic, because when revit runs it used 4.3 gigabytes, and I check my physical memory, it's decrease till 0 I turn off revit and then the physical memory increase to 2 gigabytes. I guess because that my laptop just have 6g ram, and for win is 1.5 - 2g ram, then I dont have enough memory for running revit. But I just wonder why my friend's laptop just use 500mb for revit but mine use 4g ram for revit.

 

System Requirements

For 32-Bit Autodesk Revit Architecture 2012

• Microsoft® Windows® 7 32-bit Enterprise, Ultimate, Professional, or Home Premium edition, Microsoft® Windows Vista® 32-bit (SP2 or later) Enterprise, Ultimate, Business, or Home Premium edition, or Microsoft® Windows® XP (SP2 or later) Professional or Home edition*
• For Microsoft Windows 7 32-bit or Microsoft Windows Vista 32-bit: Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon™ dual core processor, 3.0 GHz (or higher) with SSE2 technology
• For Microsoft Windows XP: Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon dual core, 1.6 GHz (or higher) with SSE2 technology
• 4 GB RAM
• 5 GB free disk space
• 1,280 x 1,024 monitor with true color
• Display adapter capable of 24-bit color for basic graphics, 256 MB DirectX® 10-capable graphics card with Shader Model 3 for advanced graphics (find out more about recommended graphics hardware)
• Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 7.0 (or later)
• Microsoft Mouse-compliant pointing device
• Download or installation from DVD9
• Internet connectivity for license registration

For 64-Bit Autodesk Revit Architecture 2012

• Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit Enterprise, Ultimate, Professional, or Home Premium edition, Microsoft Windows Vista 64-bit (SP2 or later) Enterprise, Ultimate, Business, or Home Premium edition, or Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional x64 edition (SP2 or later)*
• For Windows 7 64-bit or Windows Vista 64-bit: Intel® Core™ i5-2300 quad-core processor (2.8 GHz, 6 MB cache) or equivalent AMD® processor.
• For Windows XP Professional x64: Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon dual core, 1.6 GHz (or higher) with SSE2 technology
• 8 GB RAM
• 5 GB free disk space
• 1,680 x 1,050 monitor with true color
• Display adapter capable of 24-bit color for basic graphics; 256 MB DirectX 10-capable graphics card with Shader Model 3 for advanced graphics (find out more about recommended graphics hardware)
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 (or later)
• Microsoft Mouse-compliant pointing device
• Download or installation from DVD9
• Internet connectivity for license registration

 

yeah of course I know it required 8gb ram, but I think it's just for a pretty big project. For a small project, in this situation is 20mb, 4gb ram used is so much I just wonder why another laptop uses 1gb ram for revit but mine use 4gb, even we have the same version I'm just afraid that there's problem with my laptop so my revit use 4gb ram to run. Of course in case that it's normal for revit ( to use 4gb ram for a 20mb project), i'll upgrade my ram

 

I have the dv6t-6100 with BIOS vF.1A settings on Fixed. Sometimes the 6700 GPU won't switch from power-saver mode when plugged in. I have to reboot the laptop to make it work. Does anybody else experience this?

 

whats your CCC rev? I'm running 2011.0412.2341.40734

during my build, I downloaded sp53025.exe from the hp site. the package includes the latest AMD driver and CCC You'd think this would have been shipped with the laptop and maybe it was... perhaps the re-instal from fresh bits helps, lol

switchable grahics is supported by HP so I say resist the temptation to go grab drivers directly from AMD. get the stuff blessed by HP

on Edit: to answer your question, I can switch at will to either GPU on either power source.

 

I installed the latest version available by HP (rev 8 / 2011.0412.2341.40734) and now the switch is slower than the quick 3 flickers that I was getting earlier. It takes like 5-10 seconds to switch with each flicker taking a few seconds. Also, sometimes the fn + B won't work or the Catalyst center window would load slow or freeze for a few seconds after clicking. Its a nice machine but all these bugs are frustrating me when I need them to work quickly.

 

Hey guys, just bought Crysis 2, and downloaded the Direct X 11 update and the high rez textures. I came across this interesting article;

Crysis 2 tessellation: too much of a good thing? - The Tech Report - Page 1

and here is a youtube clip of it:

Crytek's Crysis 2 DX11 ******** Tessellation - YouTube


where they are saying that Nvidia and the developers have "conspired " against the ATI users by using unnecessary tessellation that disfavors the ATi cards. Now I have CCC and I have enabled the overclocking and switchable graphics function, but I would like to limit the amount of tessellation ingame. The artcle says that its possible in the CCC, but I cant find any options for that. Do I need to download a newer version or something? The CCC version I have is 2011.0412.2341.40734 and my m6770 driver is 8.830.6.2000

 

look under Gaming, 3D application settings. there is a setting for AMD optimized Tessellation

 

Ahh, got it, it was hidden under the advanced options! Thanks!

 

I'm really trying here, I followed the following steps:

Upgraded to latest BIOS and set Graphics to FIXED.

Uninstall AMD Drivers
Boot into safe mode
run driver sweeper to cleanup after AMD
reboot
Install sp53025.exe from HP site
reboot

Ok, so AMD kind of works, I have no OpenCL (which I need) and many other things seem missing, the control center appears as if it was lobotomized and poorly at that. So that's not really acceptable I need options like force refresh on V-Sync and the like for what I do, but it does kind of works. Next I tried to roll up the Video driver to 11.8 as recommended in this thread, well that resulted in blue screens so I restored the system and, tried a different tack.

Uninstall AMD Drivers
Boot into safe mode
run driver sweeper to cleanup after AMD
reboot
Install 11-8_mobility_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc.exe
reboot
Now I have a control center, but no AMD driver for the video. It shows up as a "Standard VGA Adapter", so obviously the driver did not take, even though it did not complain during install and CCC shows the driver versions as valid. So I attempted to modify the driver, as that should be possible, based on past experience, but the driver is a valid one, as the "Hardware ID" for the device matches the driver. So the driver should install, but does not, which means something is interfering with it likely the switchable graphics.

So I'm left wondering, if I should return is POC as without a viable AMD card its really useless for what I want. Heck I do not care about switchable graphics and the like any more, it would be nice, but I'd be happy with just the AMD card installed and working with a proper driver set! I never thought of such issues before I encountered them, but these are major issues.

I also use Ubuntu, and on 11.04 Desktop, I can only get the Intel Driver to install AMD always says no valid controller present and will not initialize. Even to get the Intel driver working required hand creation of the xorg.conf file, but that is another issue.

What I'm looking for is a fully and I mean fully functional AMD HD 6770M controller with all the options I'm come to expect from CCC including support for OpenCL and tweaking. If that's not something is unit can do then I'm afraid I'll be forced to return it.

Also just for fun, if the Intel Display needs to exist, I'd like updated drivers for it installed as well.

Just really unhappy, it does not work as one would expect, and do what I thought I'd paid for,
ERIC

 

just curious, but why did you depart from the HP tested driver set or uninstall AMD drivers? I did a minimal image restore from the factory, then installed sp53025 on top of what HP shipped already, and she runs beautifully. I can switch at will, and run the OpenGL furmark on either one anytime I want. honestly I have never seen the need to go outside of the HP drivers for this laptop, and suggest that some may have been too hasty to do that.

re-imaging is painful sometimes but if you can tolerate it, I'd suggest you do that. use the minimal recovery option -- its great. no bloat, but its helpful to have the swsetup folder around handy to install stuff like the HP documentation. If you have to start completely over (if your swsetup is an unknown state), recover with the full HP install, then back up swsetup, then recover with the minimal install.

 

First off I have a custom install, non of the pre-installed OS stuff, first thing I did was remove the HD replace it with an SSD and reinstall Windows and Ubuntu: I like my OS's my way

I made yet another attempt this morning:
Uninstall AMD Drivers
Uninstall Intel Driver, by right clicking on it in the Device Manager
Boot into safe mode
run driver sweeper to cleanup after AMD
reboot
Install sp53025.exe from HP site
reboot
At this point it seemed Ok, and was working.
Next I installed, the stand-alone packages (Hydrovision, Display, and ATI Codecs) :
11-8_mobility_vista_win7_32-64_hydravision.exe
11-8_vista64_win7_64_dd.exe
11-8_mobility_vista_win7_32-64_xcode.exe
reboot
Now they all seem to be properly installed

However the OpenCL package would not install, said it was already installed, but it is not. So now the system is operational, except for OpenCL, which is still a problem.
Also in VMWARE the screen constantly goes from in focus to fuzzy and then back to focus, the same VM works on a 2 Desktop's both of which use AMD GPU's (5 and 6 series) and Sandy-bridge CPU's so it has something to do with the Notebook and graphics. I need to further research this issue.


ERIC