hp dv5t quicktouch erratic

my quicktouch volume is causing my volume to go up and down erratically. Whats wrong??

 

Turn off hp quickplay

 

... no.

Anyway, you guys think it's probably a physical problem with the laptop? I seriously don't want to return it after having it only for 4 days... Its just shaking erratically. I wiped the area with a lint free cloth, no luck. I only noticed it right now and it might have been because of a rise in temperature, not sure. I was around low 60's then went to play a game and went to high 70s when i started to hear it... or at least notice that i was hearing it (when turning up/down the volume you can hear a click).

edit: Ok went to test the other quickplay buttons rewind, play/pause, forward, and stop. They weren't working for a sec, then they worked, and the volume problem stopped.
What do you guys think i should do? Will this be a problem in the future so that i have to return it? Or should i just let that slide?

 

I was having some problems, also, with the volume control. It would start
clicking like a geiger counter. If you go to the Hp site, you will find new
Quick Play drivers. I installed them on my dv5t and the controls work
perfectly.

Rob

 

Hi guys, I'm having the same problem. I tried sownloading the drivers but i still have the problem. Any one else work out a fix?

The problem seems intemitant. It will freak out for a bit then be ok, but if i try to change the volume it goes off again.

Any ideas?

 

I have been having the same problem since I received my laptop. I usually reloaded the drivers for quicktouch and restarted the computer. Happened again tonight, saw there was new drivers so I installed and restarted. Did nothing this time, I emailed the problem to HP tech support, I'll post there response to the problem once I get it.

and I do have quickplay uninstalled, since when I would shut down or restart it would come up with an error message.

 

Try rubbing your finger on the volume slider really fast. That worked for me.

 

Ok I got an email back from them, they said it could be 1 of 3 things 1. BIOS is corrupted 2. Corrupt system files 3. hardware problem.

so they are having my first update my bios with the new release, if that don't work, want me to revert to factory settings, after that it would just be a mail in for them to look at.


heres a question for you all though, did you mess with services at all to boost performance? I turned a few things off for a performance boost, nothing mayjor though.

 

Actually it could be heat related, I noticed it happening after a play a game and the laptop gets hot.

The way the buttons work is that when you touch it, it senses the heat from your fingers and works. I think its a design flaw that makes the laptop so hot that it would screw up the buttons. I've noticed that when my laptop is hot the quicktouch buttons are also hot.

 

I'm having the same problem. New drivers do not work for me. I feel that the area where the volume is on the quicktouch is kind of flimsy compared to the other areas which are pretty solid. It feels like it is cheaply made

Anyways, I feel like it's getting to the point that it's ticking me off. How do you turn of the quicktouch controls?

 

Download a temp monitor and note at what temp it starts to happen. It could very well be a heat/design issue.

 

This is a solution put out there by c0de9:

"I had this problem too. To FIX this problem do the following:

1. Turn off Laptop.
2. Remove battery completely.
3. Turn over the laptop and press power button for 15 secs and then release it.
4. Insert Back the Battery and Power on your laptop."


I would add that you need to unplug the power cord if it is plugged in as well as removing the battery during step 2. Someone said the problem is caused by a static build up on the motherboard. I used this method and it fixed my quicktouch keys. Hope it helps.

 

Whenever this happens to me and I touch the quicktouch area on my dv5z, it's always hot to the touch. It stopped happening after I got a notebook cooler. I'm fairly sure it could be heat related.

 

Yup, same problem here. I also agree its not likely a software issue, but either static or heat. I really don't want to lug a notebook cooler around.
Does anyone know of a way to disable the quick touch strip, not just the sound but its actual function? I really don't think HP is going to come up with a hardware solution to this problem unless they redesign this to be less sensitive to heat.
They need to know about it however.

 

This has happened to me before. Usually I can only fix it by restarting. It happened once or twice while watching a dvd, and the other times while playing CoD4. So I try not to mess with the volume controls too much when playing that game...doesn't happen with other games though. Weird.

 

If you hit the square "stop" button, the flickering stops. At least it does for me.

 

Yeah pressing the stop button works for me too.

 

Cleaning the volume buttons with the cloth that came with my laptop is what works for me.

 

i clean constantly...i keep that little micro in my closed laptop so it goes everywhere with me...
pushing stopped helped earlier when mine acted up all on its own for the first time after reading this thread...

i think your problems are giving my lappy ideas ....

 

This actually works. Sometimes my volume controls wont stay at the volume where I put it, or my mute button wont work. Well I just tried pushing the stop button and it seems to fix everything.

Who knows.

 

wow it does work just press stop and everything gets fixed

 

it doesn't work all the time though...ive learned this..but its a good trick....

 

This STILL a problem at HP.
I just bought 2 more DV5t laptops and the one that I have a 9200GS card in with a faster processor is the one with the volume control issues.

I solved the problem by, FIRST, removing HP's software for the quicktouch controls, and then reinstall the newest software found on HP's webiste.

Overall, I'm somewhat disappointed in the DV5T.
I bought one for my niece, and the volume control seems to work ok, but even her touch controls don't work great either. Her speaker/mute button stays on red/orange whether the audio is muted or not. I've tried remove and reinstall, but no good.

This is a KNOWN problem with this computer, as evidence by all the comments on websites.
I just bought 2 more thinking they would have addressed the problem, but NO.

 

I just found this thread and I'm thrilled that others experienced the same issue, because I thought I was alone.

I purchased a Pavilion 2000 Entertainment Notebook PC at Best Buy a few months ago. After two days, the volume started clicking and acting erratically, moving up and down after I touched the volume slider. There was nothing I could do to stop it.

I talked for hours with HP and Geek Squad tech people. No one had ever heard of the problem before. I shared my desktop with two HP techs and they had never seen it before.

They informed me to upgrade the BIOS and the drivers. I did that. It didn't work.

I sent my computer in to HP's service station, in Tennessee. They sent it back, saying it was "fixed". It was still broken.

I EXCHANGED THE COMPUTER AT BEST BUY. The new computer ALSO had the same problem. I was repeatedly told that it wasn't an issue with my connections or anything having to do with me; it was a hardware problem

At that point, after that nightmare, I took my money back and I am debating what to get now. I will never buy an HP product again, and I have serious doubts about buying from Best Buy as well.

 

I hear you. This DV5 is nice looking and some seem to work well.
Mine works ok, but there are a few design flaws that are really bugging me.
I bought a DV5 for my niece and I set hers up and she loves it.
It works nicely. It looks good, has good audio sound, great keyboard, and had very good performance. For her it's a very nice laptop.
However, her volume control works nicely, BUT the mute button is ALWAYS red, which is supposed to be red when audio is actually muted.
The button does mute and unmute, but the light stays red not matter what.
She just looks at the OS speaker icon to see mute/unmute.

However, for me I prefer solid overall performance versus good looks.
There are 4 major flaws with the DV5T that are simply NOT acceptable for a new laptop using the latest processors, battery technology, and OS.
The audio control sucks, the built in camera is mediocre at best (1.3MP??) it should be at least 2.0MP. The biggest problems are the heat generated and the very extremely unacceptably poor battery "performance".

The heat issue will kill the components a lot faster than it should, and any laptop sold in 2008 should give at least 3.5-4 hrs of life minimally.
HP's batteries rate consistently poor, with many of their batteries needing replacement within 1 year due to extreme capacity loss.
I started this surf session with a full 100% battery and 52 minutes later it's down to 53% capacity, and in case you think I'll get another 52 minutes, than again.
It loses power faster as it drains, and the battery needs to be shut down by 3-5% or it will shut down on it's own, and I paid EXTRA to get the high capacity battery, which I think is the SAME battery for a higher price.
The more I look into HP and in particular the DV5T, I'm getting the sense it's a pretty machine on the outside with serious health issues inside.

I may be returning mine too.

 

Yeah, I understand the other problems these computers have, but I'm surprised that I haven't seen too many instances online of the problem I had. The volume literally was out of control, not only causing the volume on screen display to continually pop up (which I know can be disabled) but also making the volume "clicking noise" audible for pretty much the entire session. It really did render the computer unusable.

And considering I bought two computers in a row with this issue, there must be a whole batch of these out there with the same problem.

 

Yes, what you describe, with the constant clicking and on screen vol. image, I had that on mine as well. I did an HP touch control uninstall and a fresh reinstall with the latest drivers, and that fixed the majority of the issue.
The control is now useable, not as it should, but at least it works and the clicks are gone. The mute button even works correctly and has the correct color for each function. It's quirky at best and makes for a negative impression of HP and the DV5 at worst.

 

what is the version number of the new and old drivers for this softtouch software? I'm supposed to be getting my dv5t delivered on Monday, and I'd like to find out quickly if it comes with the new software drivers.

 

Where were 12-cells offered? Oh, they are for 5s, why not the 7s?

 

I just upgraded the QuickLaunch Buttons drivers (the latest one) and it fixed the quick launch quirkiness I was seeing earlier

 

Mine started doing the shaky volume thing too shortly after I got it. The machine was quite warm when it started doing it and continued to do so after a restart. After it cooled down, it didn't do it anymore.

The next time it did it, I just uninstalled all the HP software and said the hell with it. The big on-screen display for the volume is obnoxious anyway. I like the slider down in the system tray more. Most of the computers I've ever used don't have such buttons anyway, so I've grown accustomed to doing everything through Windows.

Maybe I'm just stuck in the computer stone age.

 

Yeah, it was really weird though because I mentioned this to HP techs when I was on the phone with them. There came a point where I just said, "how do I uninstall quick touch so it doesn't work at all anymore". And none of them knew how to do it.

 

Did you try the latest driver (August I believe)?

As I posted earlier, it fixed my problems, even after a couple hours of gaming it was still working

 

Yeah I tried the latest everything. Nothing worked.

 

Happens to me once in a while too. Although it first happened after 2 months of purchase of my Dv5 1050.

You can press the Wifi On/Off button and this fixes the volume flickering problem.

 

Uninstall the HP software for quicklaunch and touch controls first before downloading the newest software.
A clean update seems to make a difference.

 

Solution ...get mad get madder then touch every single button on quicktouch then you should hear a pop sound, you my friend just touched the stop button now everything works perfectly. This problem reoccurs every once in a while hopefully hp fixes this, but right now pressing the stop button does bother me much.

 

I had the problem and what fixed it was just getting a fine cloth and wiping the surface of the quicktouch controls.

YMMV

 

I do appreciate the remedies, though I've already gotten my money back with no plans to buy an HP again. I just wonder how HP could never have heard of this problem. Each time I called they were aghast that this was happening, even though it seems like quite a few people experienced the same thing.

 

I have an interesting spin on this problem. I was using my laptop while at work and an in-store walkie-talkie went off on the table near(a few feet away) my laptop. The screen went all wobbly and then the volume problem started. It would continually click up to full volume, all the while making the clicking noise, and brining up the black volume display in the middle of my screen.
I just reinstalled the latest quicktouch drivers and it appears to have gone away.
I thought it was odd that the walkie was the specific cause of the problem. I've had this computer for a while now and have never had that problem before...
Any ideas about why the walkie may have cause this problem? I know for a fact that's what it was because nothing else was going on around it at the time and the problem started immediately after the walkie went off.

 

I just got a new HP Pavilion dv5, I have noticed this problem since the first time I've used it. I was thinking of an hardware issue at first, now also after reading this thread I'm 99% convinced it's a heat issue (which is kind of an hardware issue). I've uninstalled the quick launch software and reinstalled the latest version, but I still have the problem. The only thing that I can't explain is why pressing Stop works well, it fixes the problem.. I switched on the laptop about 1 hour ago, after 30 mins the bar with the touch keys became very hot and both the volume slide and the mute buttons did not work at all. Then I pressed "stop" and everything works well now, even after 30 mins or more. I'm going to write HP a complain about this, there must be a way to fix it.. this workaround of pressing the stop key seems to work not only for me, so they should keep this in mind.........

anybody have some news about this?

 

Hmm...it may also be defective. I've had my laptop running for hours an the keys still work fine for me (I did have to move up to the latest driver).

Then again, I may not have stressed it enough (Playing Madden, blogging, surfing)

 

@uncming, did you just uninstall the "HP Quick Launch Buttons" software from the control panel and then reinstalled it again? I've downloaded the latest version on the HP site, which is 6.40 H2, is that the same you have?

I just do some wireless web browsing and I see this problems, sometimes after 10 mins sometimes after 30 or more..

anyway I got a reply from HP, they suggested me to do the following things:

1) do the power drain (switch off laptop, remove charger and battery, keep power button pressed for up to 1 minute, reinsert the battery)
2) do a system restore (which I don't quite understand as there is no restore point I can go back to which worked before.. it never worked well)
3) uninstall and reinstall the HP Quick Launch Buttons sw
4) update the BIOS

I did 1) and 3) already with no success, 2) does not make sense to me, I still have to try 4). I'll let you know if it works..

 

just to let anybody know, after an e-mail exchange with HP and some personal testing, I came to the conclusion that this is not heat-related or software related, but it's (at least in my case) related to static electricity. I've updated the bios and the drivers, but I still had the problem. I also did the power drain procedure described in this post, but after that I cleaned the laptop, especially the bar on the top containing the touch buttons, rubbing it with the tissue that came with the laptop. I'm pretty confident this generated lots of static electricity, which is why I could still see the problem after that. When I did the power drain procedure again, this time I did not clean the laptop, and now it seems to work well, after several hours.

That's my experience, hope it can be useful to somebody.

Regards

 

r3pl4y, i agree that this is due to static electricity. i followed exactly what you did. BIOS also updated. everything done. BUT, too sad, i still encounter the same problem once in a while.

anything that i can paste (a tape of something) to neutralized this static elect? or ask the HP to change that bar?

 

how is it going by the way? still seeing the issue?

 

I just installed right over it. Still working well for me

 

I've been using the laptop very intensively in the last days, and this issue (mute button / volume buttons not working) only occurred once after the power drain procedure. Again, I just pressed the stop button and everything was ok afterwards. I'm still a bit disappointed by this flaw in the design, but now the situation is much better. The firmware upgrade didn't fix the problem as I expected.

By the way I've disabled the clicks when increasing/decreasing the volume and disabled the OSD too, which to me were very annoying anyway.

I hope HP will make this more robust, I don't know if there is something we can use to neutralize this static electricity effect..

 

happens to me every once in a while, just restart it and problem solved

 

Yeah, crazyninja, even if I restarted the problem would persist. Nothing worked. Terrible machine.