sleeper hit rig HP Compaq nx9420 on HP Small Biz Web site

I work on computers all day long so I have plenty of oem and retail xp cds around to do a clean install. I started last night but ran into the next issue. A USB Floppy drive will be required to load the driver for the hdd controller. The SATA hard drive is not recognized by Windows. I will pick a usb floppy drive up tonight, that I don't have laying around. The hdd controller driver is in the same swsetup folder.

I will report back tonight. I should have a clean install in place with any tips by then. You will need to find or borrow an xp cd, the recovery cd is not going to work for a true clean install.

 

****... i knew that. i was just in denial . let me know how the clean install goes and if you eliminate that pesky glitch. push-comes-to-shove i can probably get the XP disks, but i'm opening-up another can of worms (getting the IT guy to re-install all the software he hooked me up with! - yes, stupid and impatient i know). now i need a USB floppy drive? ugh. maybe the IT guy has got one of those hanging around...

 

update. i just completed the 'Clear Out *Background Services* That are not Needed' by bootleg2go - http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=5787 - that appears to have taken care of that nasty little boot-up/windows log-on glitch!

a lot of HP stuff/security services in there i disabled...

speeds the boot-up quite a bit too...

 

Extended Battery.

Anyone know how this bizarre 12 cell extended battery attaches? I think they sent the wrong parts. Absolutely no instructions or diagrams, could be that parts are missing. I can find nothing about this extended battery on the web.

 

it doesn't just slide-in like the standard battery and just protrude out the back of the rig? hmmmmmm. probably did send you the wrong one then. i'd give them a call or go on their site and use 'live chat'.

 

Is it this one? I know that they're using it for many models and thought they're using it for the 9420 too. What part number is it?

 

Does it look like the battery in this picture? If so, it attaches on the bottom somehow and works in addition to the standard battery at the same time. I came across installation instructions the other night, I will see if I can find them again.

 

ah ha! so it must connect to that exposed 'docking station' port? points-off for that BTW - why didn't they put a slider over that? exposing contact points/pins like that is just plain stupid. flashram - i didn't bring mine into work today - what's the other battery slider/release on the bottom - the big one. i forget. it seems to me that it didn't make too much sense to me - but it might now with a 'battery configuration' that doesn't use the traditional hook-up/bay. oh, and were you able to erradicate the 'glitch' we talked about? i'd put money on the HP Security services being the problem... hopefully smooth sailing from now on! and on to benchmarking!

 

I had car problems last night so I didn't have a chance to get to Staples. I will pick up a USB floppy after work and give it a whirl.

So far my only disappointment is the screen. It doesn't really look like a Brightview screen to me. I had a zd7000 previously and I have a v4000t at work and both of those screens are considerably brighter than the one on my nx9420. I have a Dell 700m and 2 desktop LCDs sitting next to my laptop right now and they all outshine the nx by a wide margin. I disabled the ambient light sensor thinking that would help, but no luck.

 

i'd have to agree - but then i made a simple change to the display theme (to the windows XP 'silver' version) and it made a HUGE difference. when in the top-end resolution setting, the darker themes are just too saturated (dark). try something lighter and see if that helps you out. obviously, this doesn't help when you're gaming. i knew that i'd 'miss' the Fujitsu Lifebook N6410 display ! oh well, all-in-all i'm still happy with the HP. i disabled that **** ambient light sensor too.

 

Flashram, just wanted to say thanks, in this thread you mentioned finding your drivers in swsetup folder. I totally blanked that's where hp drops them, I'm now reloading my dv8000t with xp pro on a clean install. Again, thanks!

 

No, but the battery connector next to it which does have a cover. See my link.

Du you actually need a FDD for the SATA driver? Can't you use a USB flash drive?

 

bingo! thanks for that. i didn't scroll down enough on the mobilityguru page. i was wondering what that battery connection was for --- now it all becomes clear. why didn't they put the same type of slider over the docking station connection??? the devil is in the details...

 

You can't use a flash drive, a floppy is required.

 

The clean install is in progress. I went ahead and deleted the recovery partition to get back that 7 GB. I made the recovery dvds when I got the notebook so I should be ok if I need to go back to the factory state for some reason.

 

You mean it's not bright enough(?), most lcds are too bright for me, can you post some pictures of the screen? How is the contrast and the colour quality?

 

bright screen, fast, sturdy, cheap, select any two

Acer 82xx: fast + cheap
HP nc9420: fast + sturdy(?)
Fujitsu n6410: bright screen + sturdy
LG P1: bright screen(?) + fast
Asus V6J: bright screen(?) + sturdy
Dell 1705: fast + cheap

 

i'd make sure to include service/support in your decision. i'm inclined towards HP (business class), Fujitsu ( http://www.portableone.com) and Asus ( http://www.proportable.com). not an acer or dell fan over here... not familiar with LG other than cell phones, but they get good reviews from what i've seen.

a good reseller and top notch customer service/support are worth a little bit more $ for the peace of mind. what if you have problems or want to return it??? make sure you know the return policy of anyone you purchase from...

my rig is rock-solid.

 

Just a quick update.

The clean install went well. The video glitch remains however once you install the ATI driver. It didn't do it until I installed the driver so it may very well be a software issue that can be addressed.

Now I know I have bashed the screen, but after tweaking it last night I am MUCH happier with it. I knew something was off but I couldn't put my finger on it. Turns out the screen was too "cool" or blue. I used Quickgamma to tweak the blue and the whites now come through much better than before making the LCD appear brighter as well. I am satisfied with it now.

For those interested in gaming, I played Oblivion on it for a few hours last night and it ran quite well. Supposedly it is a very demanding game so that's a good sign for us nx9420 gamers.

To give you an idea of just how portable the nx9420 is, here is a picture of the 17" nx9420 next to my 12" Dell 700m. They are pretty much the same thickness and the nx is about an inch deeper. The nx is of course wider. The weight is excellent on the nx and only about 2 lbs heavier than the 12" 700m.

 

yeah, i disabled the ATI background services (services.msc) and anything ATI in the startup (msconfig). i've not seen the 'glitch' since. although i'm still inclined towards it being the HP security stuff (credentials manager).

 

It's not the security drivers or hardware. I didn't reinstall any of them and they are all disabled in device manager. After the clean install the glitch came back immediately after installing the ati driver.

 

Would you post a shot of the keyboard, please?

I'd like to know the position and layout of keys like Insert, Home etc.

 

Wow!!! Very nice!!!

 

yeah, i realized that after --- you did a clean install and got rid of all that. my bad.

 

My digital camera is packed away for a trip tomorrow so this is all I have for now:

Keyboard

 

Just disabled the ATI Hotkey Poller service and that fixed the video glitch when logging on.

 

That's more than enough, many thanks!!

 

thanks for the confirmation on that! that's a good bit of information for anyone else out there that gets this machine. i downloaded quickgamma to calibrate the display ... i'll give that a whirl tonight. appreciate that too!

 

I cant wait on the benchmarks flashram and isvar. When you guys finish please let us know im just really curious how these notebooks compare to the others. Thanks.

 

i'm swamped at work and have a biz trip to redmond soon. maybe in a week or two. flashram might get to a full 'review' sooner. i'll try to post a few tid-bits here and there as i have time...

 

Thanks isvara for the info and i really apreciate it.

 

Hi all you guys,

many thanks for your posted first impressions on this baby! The nx9420 seems to fulfill my expectations exactly. And it's the only machine at the moment, which I would buy.
But since I live in Germany, i will have to wait until end of April HP will not be able to deliver earlier, whatever the reason is...
I can't wait anymore...
One more question concerning the display: Is it right, flashram, that you managed to make it brighter by using a tool like quickgamma? How does it behave in gaming? Is it fast enough for action/shooters? Usually the lights at LAN-parties are dimmed, so brightness of display shouldn't be an issue, right?
Greetz from the "Old World"
Lars

edit: Is it possible to buy notebooks in the States with german keyboard-layout?

 

hp germany told me that it would be on sale from mid april, not end of april...

 

Wow, sounds good, only two weeks more waiting...
thx

 

We finally received 3 of these units and these things are awesome. A little tedious to clean up all the HP garbage preloaded, and not having an OS disk sucks, but I'll manage. My issue is the Bluetooth. I purchased a Logitech v270 optical mouse to use with this beast, and I cannot for the life of me get it to work. HAs anyone tried to connect a bluetooth mouse? The mouse works fine on my nw8000 without having to load the Logitech software, but no go on the nx9420. The Bluetooth is functioning propery on the unit because I can transfer files via bluetooth between the 2 units. Any suggestions? Many Thanks

David

 

sorry, i don't know a solution for your problem, but can you please take a few pictures and post it here.

And when the notebook is only idling, can you hear a fan and is the noise annoying and anything like it!?

Thanks, Oster

 

funny but i had the same issue. once i saw your post i tried to install a bluetooth mouse that i sometime use with my iBook when i'm doing a lot of graphic design. the HP would pick it up on the 'bluetooth network', but i had a 'pairing' issue that i couldn't resolve in order to get the blasted thing to work . i only tried for 10-15 minutes. i'll try again tonight and let you know. ugh. i keep having intermittent issues with the intel wireless too - with WPA wireless security. it's on an MAC airport, but that shouldn't be the issue. sometimes the HP drops the connection, can't get back on (automatic) and the wireless utilities become unresponsive forcing a reboot. arrrrrg! i thought that i 'gut' too many Windows XP Services from msconfig and from startup, so i went through them all again. why does windows have to be so 'ungainly' compared to other OS versions? these aren't huge issues - and they're more OS related than anything else. but they're still a pain. i think i might contact HP and ask for the XP disks so that i can do a full, clean install...

 

It looks like the same old problem with Intel WiFi cards. Pity they haven't fix it in the Napa version of the card
You can try disabling power-saving features of the card

 

thanks for the great tip/advice! i'll try it tonight and let everyone know...

 

I was able to get my bluetooth mouse to work....for a little while . Then it quit and will not work again . I had to uninstall all of the bluetooth drivers and reinstall them to get it to work the first time... I have not noticed any wireless drop's....yet...I am curious to see if you can aquire the XP cd's. I hate not being able to install the OS in the way i want to. Also experienced the dreaded blue screen of death while trying to access Microsoft Navision database remotely, twice!!!! Love the unit, just need to work the bugs out and be patient....

 

Some questions to the proud owners of this notebook:
1. Is the WSXGA-BrightView display really bright? Is it, for instance, comparable to Asus' Glare-TFTs or even Sony's X-black displays?
2. Is it possible to change the graphics-card or is it fixed/soldered ... whatever?
3. What about heat and noise? Does it get warm or even hot somewhere? Can you hear noise from the fans?
4. Has anyone benchmarked this machine yet?
Many thanks.

 

the power-saving features of the card were disabled - so i disabled ALL the power-saving features on the rig. i'll see how it responds/reacts now... i hate dropped connections and i hate unresponsive WiFi utilities and locked-up rigs even more - and now the Bluetooth issues ... i still love the rig ... just don't like these little quirks. i still need to contact HP regarding XP Pro disks because i think the full, clean install is REQUIRED at this point. hey flashram, do you have any problems post clean install?

 

Sorry to hear that you still have problems. Another thing to try is to let Windows control wireless connections (disable Intel Pro Set, check "Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings" in network adapter properties and make sure that "Wireless Zero Configuration" service is set to "automatic" startup type).

 

thanks for the tips. i really appreciate it. i'll try it tonight (the rig is at home). props to you!

 

I did not have any problems post clean install. The drivers and all the services installed with no problem for the bluetooth. Before doing the clean install I got several bluetooth error messages saying "your hardware was not installed properly and the device may not work", or something along those lines. I had no problems with the wifi.

BTW- I sent my nx9420 back on Monday. I just could not deal with a $2100 laptop having such a dull and lifeless LCD while an $800 HP at Staples has a crystal clear, bright, shiny screen. I will stick with my 700m for a while longer I guess.

 

--- i can relate though. i can't say that for the $$$ i am very happy/satisfied . and it's probably a bit of post traumatic sticker-shock syndrome, but it still sucks --- i wanted so much to be blown-away. my main disappointment is the lack of the expresscard/54. i was a little surprised by the display quality too and was hoping for something that approached the Fujitsu Lifebook N6410 that i passed on (and IPS is but a dream... ). i am hanging-on as long as i can to see some reviews of the Toshiba Satellite P105-S921 but know that the build quality will be probably be an issue (never mind support) ... so, i'm kind of stuck i guess. but like you, i could wait longer i suppose to see what else comes-out (Sager or Asus) - i may re-consider the Fujitsu as well.

the build is excellent, i love the size/weight (still portable!) and the warranty is top-notch!!!

however, this past buying experience (overall - not just with the HP) was fraught with problems/issues from the get-go. maybe waiting will be a good thing. i'll have to meditate on this some more...


update: i requested the Win XP Pro installation disks via the HP Small Biz online support chat this morning. The rep said no problem... so that's cool - i still love this machine and think it's a good rig considering the current (limited) lineup of 17" core duo DTRs. i will probably keep it as the display isn't a deal breaker for me. and if i returned it, i KNOW i'd end up spending even more money for something like a full-on, tricked-out Sager or Asus --- or perhaps a Macbook Pro (boot camp!). ugh.

 

Sad to hear that. Hope that HP will improve the Display. I still want this rig! I don't understand HP's marketing-strategy. Because they say it is really bright and one can work even in sunshine...
I think I will wait for further tests and reviews...

 

i'm still having issues with the Bluetooth mouse - so far the "Let Windows Manage my Wifi" (disabled the Intel Driver) seems to be working ...

i was able to get HP to ship me the Win XP Pro disks - i just used the online support chat to make the request - easy-cheesy. now i have to get a USB floppy like Flashram and grab/collect all the drivers. the 'stickler' is that i have to get the IT guy to re-install all the software he hooked me up with after I reformat the drive !

 

Thanks for sharing this experience. At least you saved one poor soul from dissapointment My hesitation to buy notebook paid off!
This process of purchasing notebook was the toughest process in my life. I was eating information around but could not process it all. I worked on it 20 hrs per day.
What I wanted to buy was offered only by two vendors: Acer (8204) and MBP. I wanted 2GHz because I know that the cost of producing 1.6GHz and 2.0GHz chip is absolutely the same. There is no reason vendors like Fujitsu, Asus put 1.6GHz in their high-end rigs (except to !@@%!%$ us little men). To put together extraordinary screen and 1.6GHz!? Come on! Or 4200rpm HD!? Do these people think we are morons?
Acer did their best in producing 8204, unfortunately they did not achieve the level of quality needed for such an expensive gadget. With 10 bil. in sales I expect they will achieve it shortly.
Apple have extraordinary OS but I make my living by using #!#$^#& Windows "OS". So I was stuck. And then, all of sudden, boot camp! My suffering ends with MBP. The only thing that stops me right now is my Visa is limited to $5000 which will be cleared Monday. Configured MBP will cost me little bit over $3000CAN (2GHz, 100/7200, 1G/667, x1600 + nice things Apple puts in). I'll just add 1G more and I'll have to buy @$&$@#$& XP to install. With tax everything will probably be ~$4000CAN. ****!

 

Well I am happy so far. I still have yet to have a wireless problem? And we have been able to get the bluetooth mouse to stay stable on all 3 units.

As far as the display, I guess I have not been blessed with seeing the units ya'll are comparing this one too. Both of our developers like the display, and so do I. I do have one pixel that seems to be having an issue though.

I also have not noticed anymore heat than I had with my nw8000. I would like to tweak the unit a little more and see if I can squeeze all of the horsepower available out of the unit.

Also, I cannot get SUSE to load in Virtual PC. Stupid thing dies with a kernel panic as soon as it boots from the cd. I wonder if it has somethig to do with the CPU?

We are an HP authorized reseller, thus the reason for us to go with HP. We have a variety of models here, and so far, I think this is by far the absolute best.