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

OK, apparently I got the Support rep that fell and hit their head. They told me I would have to purchase the restore cd and OS cd. They must be in crack. I'll call my Rep tomorrow and see what he says....

 

just ordered mine. should be here at the beginning of next week as one of the first in germany

 

greetz, Oster!! Have Fun!
And thanks, bone_scar, for your positve remarks on the display quality!
I guess I will order soon... as one of the second in Germany.

 

I ordered one this week and it has shipped. I will be wiping it clean and putting MCE 2005 on it. Anyone see issues with putting MCE on this machine?

I should have some news next week on it.

 

make sure to make a handy copy of the 'swsetup' folder/directory for all the drivers - of few of which seem hard to locate. it goes without saying that you'll be making a full set of recovery DVDs! MCE shouldn't be a problem...

 

Having not bought a laptop in about 2 years, I'm a little confused on the supplying of the OS CD. The last time I bought an HP it was included.

I'm considering this laptop and I know I'll want to wipe it clean. Can I request the CD's when I order? Should this cost money?

 

I haven't had the chance to call my rep yet, but I got 2 nx6130 notebooks in today and they were setup the same way with the restore partition on the drive and no cd's. Inside the box is this neat little cd looking picture telling you everything you need is on the drive and that you should make your own restore cd's (2 DVD's or 10 cd's!!). It also states if you want original OS cd's they can be purchased from HP. What the %^&^!! I bought these units with a OS and I expect to get hard copies of the software. I will be making a call next week to see about getting these supplied. I'll post my results....

 

According to my rep, they should include the original CDs for a couple of months longer (whatever that means). Once I get mine in, I will let you guys know.

 

If you have trouble with brightness, turn off the ambient light sensor under "security tools"????. Then go into the ATI driver and set everything up. It is very, very bright, however, the amibient light reader blocks the back light tube from getting very bright.

Basically, the ambient light feature is a good idea badly implemented.

 

Anyone know how to use the fingerprint system on this notebook to actually first log on to windows?? I have gotten it to work for some things, but not windows logon.

 

yes, i agree that you can adjust the display to the extent that you wish within the ATI Catalyst 'video' settings. as bright as you want. so, that's why it's (the display) not a deal-breaker for me.

i used the 'support channel' to obtain my Win XP Pro installation disks - i've not received them yet - but i've got a 'call tag' (and the chat thread) to reference if i don't get them soon. going about it this way also meant that it's a no-charge scenario. you might be able to request them with the order, but i wouldn't be surprised if it's an upcharge in that case. either way, i do highly suggest you get them. the bloatware issues are significant enough to warrant a full, clean install.

 

I did have the light sensor off and I did play with the settings in the Catalyst Control Center. The display was still nowhere near as bright as any of the other 4 lcds (2 desktop, 2 Laptop) I have in my house. It's just not a very good display compared to some of the other Brightview panels HP has used in the past.

 

perhaps. i've got 2 other laptops too. and numerous desktops at work that this rig was casually compared too. i agree that it's not the brightest or the best (it's nowhere near an IPS), but it's still decent. it just needed tweaking IMHO. i'm satisfied with it. not thrilled, but satisfied.

 

Sort of wondering.. who makes the IPS you're talking about? What model number range should someone who's looking "look" for? How would that model compare spec wise and price wise?

 

Curious, was the laptop on battery power when comparing to the other LCD's? Does the display your unit have dual lamps?

 

IPS stands for 'in plane switching' and refers to a particular type of display technology. without getting into the details (twice the number of transistors), it's the BEST --- and you pay for it. i only know of a few: asus v6va, some IBMs and i hear the LGs. no 17" DTRs that i know of...

 

I'm thinking about getting this rig, seems very nice but I was wondering if the resolution is enough? If I compare it to one of dell's rigs they go 1920, is it a big difference? I work a lot in photoshop and other editing software and need screen space. How big image can you open in photshop (with actual size and still see toolbars and stuff) with this rig?

 

Thanks for the clarification on the IPS ('in plane switching") , refering to the type of display used in a few select models/mfgs.

 

I have a 1680x1050 screen, and I measured how many pixels I've got to work in Photoshop 7.0. If you size your menus rather conservatively, you can work with 1300 x 800 images very well (100% zoom). If you size your menus quite large, as I do, and waste some space doing that you can work with 1100 x 800 images at 100%. This is counting the cascading behavior when you open several images.

 

well HP went back on their word (and the chat thread in my possession) and said they will not ship me the Win XP Pro installation disks and drivers disks . instead i was pointed (via email) to an 800 number where i can purchase the 'restore' disks. i've not inquired as to the price yet. i'm still trying to get these sent to me free of charge considering their inept customer service .

 

Whats the 800 number? I am getting the run around also, and I am really wanting to reinstall the OS and get rid of all the ****py add on's. And now my page up and down doesn't work either. Really need to reload it and try and get the bugs out myself.

 

true that. here's the number: HP Order Center 1-800-952-7689 Option #1 for Quick Restore, then option #2 for Commercial.

 

Alrighty.....called that number and was referred to a different number. Was then refered to www.partsurfer.hp.com to order from the web. This site does not even list the nx9420......GREAT!!!!! So now what??? I will continue to track down a solution, but if anyone has a better idea, I am all for it.
Has anyone tried to reload from the restore cd's and see if loading the OS only is an option?

 

what???? i tried the number yesterday and only bailed because the rig is at home and i don't have the serial number handy. i was placed in queue to speak with a rep. before i bailed though --- did you speak to someone??? this is getting crazy...

 

Sure did, at both numbers. The first number said that I would have to go through another nunmber because she did not see any items for the nx9420. The second number (800 652 6672) apparently is for warranty only and the guy I spoke to said to go to the partsurfer to locate the item and purchase their. So now I am thinking about loading it from an OEM XP disk and just handling it myself.

 

yeah, if you've got an OEM disk, go for it. you can register it with your XP Pro version serial on the bottom of the rig. make sure you've got that HP 'swsetup' (drivers) folder copied on a USB flash memory device...

 

On resolution, I was interested in the Dell M90 as well for the 1920 X1200, however, the nx9420 that I actually bought with 1680 is more than enough. Basically, over 40, I can no longer see 1920 on a 17" screen and non-native resolutions are terrible. My big issue is that HP has limited the size of virtual screen that the video card is permitted to handle, which is dumb as I used a 2400 X 2000 virtual screen on my previous laptop.

This nx9420 screen is sharp, brite, and has plenty of resolution.

 

Price of OS restore disc should be $10. Of course that was price as ordered with the notebook.

 

Hi, the 9420 sounds like a fantastic laptop overall. I've followed this thread for a few days, and just placed an order. A couple of thoughts/questions:

$10 isn't all that much for the discs, although I agree they should give it to you for free with the system.

rbs, you mention that the "screen is sharp, brite, and has plenty of resolution." I'm wondering about the brightness. Others have said it's not so bright? When did you get your laptop? Do you think they may have upgraded/switched/fixed the screens? I ask this because if they have, then those with dimmer screens can probably get warranty service to swap theirs out (or at least brighten them up). What are your thoughts?

 

yeah, the $10 isn't a big deal to me - i just wish i had the foresight to order the 'restore plus' disks when i purchased the rig. i think they have to be created at the factory per request. it seems as though the HP bureaucracy hasn't quite caught-up to the support needs of these new units. i'm now being told that i need to have technical support 'order' the disks for me as the other support/parts purchase channel doesn't have these disks/drivers and doesn't know when they will. it's the old back-and-forth and one hand doesn't talk to the other .

as far as the display, i did wonder if it might be an inverter issue causing the dimness. that's the typical symptom. however, by playing in ATI Catalyst, i get the results that are good for me. plenty bright enough IMO. and i don't even have it at its brightest. i don't know the technical specifications for the display, but is seems to be a lamp issue that illuminates the screen real estate. the bigger display perhaps needs another lamp/design - or IPS. however, this would drive up the price significantly. the Fujitsu Lifebook N6410 has a tremendous display, but they had to 'cut-back' elsewhere to keep the price around the $2K mark. the Fujitsu is a fine rig, but with P1 out-of-the game, it's tough for me to look at it as an option again.

i had considered returning my rig and waiting for the 17" MBP core duo (June/July/August?) - Bootcamp! Parallel/Virtualization OS! but know that it will be $3K+ in the configuration i want (comparable to the nx9420). that and the soldered-in Yonah is an upgrade issue for potentiality to 64-bit (?). so, IMHO this IS a great rig and a tremendous value comparable to what is currently on the market for a 17" core duo DTR around $2K. there are only so many out there right now and you have to decide what's the best configuration and unit characteristics (including service/support!) that best fit your needs. that's the tough part!

 

I have had zero quabbles about the display. I do have other issues, thus the reason I am in the process of doing a complete rebuild now. I think there is way too much junk software mudding up the waters for my liking. Here is the issue I have dealt with.

1. Bluetooth connectivity did not work out of the box. It did see the mouse device but would not work. (Uninstalled the B/T and reinstalled, fixed the problem)
2. Pg up and Pg down keys randomly quits working. (No solution)
3. System locks up when Outlook, Navision and a web browser are being used. mad: )
4. Some game cd's cannot be read on the dvd-ram drive. (Atari's Axis and Allies, EA Games Command and Conquer series...these are perfect disks that load on other pc's)
5. System blue screens randomly when logging in via the fingerprint reader. (Hoping cleaning up some of the fluff will fix this. It is a great feature.)

I will give an update once the unit is finished building, hopefully this afternoon.

 

yep. the bloatware is exorbitant and is the basis of my only issues with the rig (aside from the lack of an expresscard 54/34 slot). i'm sure i'll be very happy once i get the 'restore plus' disks and do a full, clean install/rebuild.

 

did you perform your rebuild from the restore disks? HP tech support wasn't sure if i could extract just the OS or not...

 

No, I used a OEM XP Pro disk and my serial number. One thing of note, I had to use almost every app in the swsetup folder to resolve all of the hardware driver issues, but I was able to pick how much of each app to load. No where near as much '****' running now as there was. I hope this resolves my issues. I did get 8 gig of my hard drive back...woo hooo...

 

With respect to resolution, I just turned off the self adjusting brightness control and then adjusted the display with the Ati Catalyst display control. Except in sunlight, the range of brightness is plenty. I do quickly use the Catalyst when going to a different environment, though. The "briteview" is clear but a bit unusual, however, I would get the "briteview" again now that I have used it.

 

Hi, guys hope you guys can help me with some issues. I purchased this notebook and I too didn't like all the junk HP put on this machine. Therefore I decided to use my OEM copy of XP and do a clean install. However, I assumed the HP would have all the drivers on their site and I didn't back up the swsetup folder and I deleted the recovery partition. I was able to get most of the drivers off of their site except the audio and modem drivers. Could some please help me out and tell me where i can get these drivers.

Thank you.

 

Please disregard my previous post because I found the drivers on HP's site. I was pretty sure that the audio drivers wasn't posted the last time i looked.

Thanks.

 

Quick question: What kind of junk software was installed on your systems? I just got mine and there seems to be nothing extra on it. I was expecting lots of ads from AOL and the like.

Also, the LCD is very bright, and I can't seem to dimm it down with the function key and F9/F10. Any ideas?

Thanks.

 

Alright, so I got the bluescreen, when trying to install zone alarm. So I decided to do a full install using my OEM XP disc. But when I try, the system freezes as it is loading the floppy driver in the intial setup phase.

So I'm slipstreaming SP2 into XP. Found some very good instructions on how to do this. Should save a whole bunch of time with the Windows updates. Here's the URL to those instructions:

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp

 

maybe you have the ambient light sensor still turned on an so you cant change the brightness manually

 

All of the extra software seems to be HP related. When I loaded my from the my OEM disk and then loaded the drivers, I had the ability to customize each apps configuration, removing stuff I felt I didn't need. So much better now. No blue screens, I can actually load my games, and the bluetooth has been flawless. Very happy with the unit now.

 

I just got my nx9420 yesterday in the mail and thought I'd post my first impressions.

I didn't get most of the problems you guys have been talking about so far. The bloatware for me wasn't crippling, I went through the guide elsewhere on the forums for optimizing a laptop and prevented a few of the HP apps from starting. For the most part though I didn't find the installed apps overwhelming.

Fingerprint reader is great, and I use it to log on every time now. Mine also flashes a weird bunch of vertical lines but thats liveable.

Nobody has posted gaming impressions that I saw, so I installed Oblivion and Battlefield 2 for a little test run. Both run flawlessly at high settings (note for oblivion it autodetected to what it calls "high settings" but its not nearly turned up all the way). I have yet to play either for more than 20 minutes, so I haven't found out if the laptop will heat up much or not. So far it has been extremely quiet and cool.

The screen is absolutely perfect in my opinion. I did go into the Catalyst Control Center, but I found turning the brightness up any more made it too bright for my eyes. Mine has the brightview coating, which seems to make a difference, although it is annoying that if the screen is ever mostly black its like a mirror.

The speakers are excellent in comparison to my last HP laptop (a ze4400), I wouldn't trade them for my surround sound set but they do quite well for music. For games they are a little less preferable, sounding a little tinny. Probably best to plug in some headphones in that case anyway.

I have a few questions for you guys that already have the laptop:

1. Is there a lock slot on here anywhere? I live in a dorm and having a huge new looking laptop makes me nervous.
2. What is the "HP Data Protection System". Is that something worth getting rid of, or is that like one of those things that will sense me drop the laptop and turn off the HD?
3. HP ProtectTools? I like the fingerprint reader but after I log in I don't need anything else running. Can I get this to shut off without disabling the login security features?

Overall this thing has been absolutely fantastic. By the way if anyone else is considering buying this laptop, I'd recommend not buying directly from HP. The tax can be killer depending on where you live, and if you search around you can find a reseller that won't charge you tax. This version is 1.83Ghz, 1GB RAM, 100GB HD, and I got it for 1,678, no tax and free shipping from CostCentral.

 

Alright, so I could never do a clean install using either my OEM or the OEM with SP2 slipstreamed in. I got through the loading of all the drivers during the initial part of setup, but then it told me that a hard drive was not present!

So I said screw it, did an F11 on bootup, and did a factory fresh installation. I then removed most of the HP software via Add/Remove (and man, was there a lot of it!)

pdovy, I too like the fingerprint feature. Not sure this helps, but in Add/Remove, I left the following HP stuff on the system and got rid of the rest of the HP stuff, and the fingerprint still works.



Cheers,
Key

 

Have you tried turning it up all the way?

Also, have you ran 3dmark or any other benchmarks?

Thanks

 

lumberbunny - I couldn't try 3dmark06 yesterday because I used up my 24hr bandwidth limit downloading other stuff, but I'm going to give it a shot this evening. I'll also run fraps with Oblivion at some different settings and post some framerates.

Also I found the lockslot, I don't know how I missed it, its right on the back.

Update:

I ran 3DMark06 and got 1610 3DMarks and 1459 CPU marks. That is quite good for a notebook I think!

Also on Oblivion, I get about 25 fps with reasonably high autodetected settings (1024x768, max draw distance, most options on high, large textures). At that fps it is perfectly playable, but fps would jump up significantly if you lowered the draw distance and turned the textures down slightly. Turning all options up yields about 11 fps, you can move around but I wouldn't keep it at these levels (6x AA, 1680x1050, all options on and on high).

Note that this is all out of the box, and also with some background applications running (security tools, some hp software and windowblinds).

 

3DMark 2005 gives me 3459 marks, the x1600 is a little low clocked(425-378)

 

I don't know, but you can check out this anti-theft software:
http://www.lojackforlaptops.com/default.asp

Dormitories seem to be usual places for theft.

EDIT: By the way, check if your system already has that software, since Cnet review on the laptop stated that it is preinstalled on the computer.

 

Hey guys (and maybe gals),

I finally stopped travelling and got a chance to set my laptop up. Reading about all the additional, unnecessary stuff running on the machine, I was ready to do a clean MCE install but I guess, I personally didn't find it all that disturbing once I got it up and running. I turned off a number of the HP services and the ATI HotKey Poller and ran Bootvis to optimize boot time.

I am pretty impressed by the machine's speed and I like the screen personally - it's bright without being obnoxiously so and all the brighter options I have seen offer only XGA resolution.

I have several questions at this point:

1) Can I simply format the 8GB partition to NTFS and then use a program like Partition Magic to join it up to my C drive? I have made backups of the SWSetup folder and also burned the HP Recovery DVDs. I really want to reclaim that 8GB.

2) Memorywise, what and where should I buy? I am looking to add another 1GB stick. I was looking to add DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) memory from NewEgg. There are number of memory options but reading some of the reviews, it appears certain ones do not work with certain machines. Just wondering if you've added any memory and could recommend something that would definitely work?

Here's the link to NewEgg and the choices there.

3) Is there any "Ghost" style software that you would recommend to take an image of a machine? Inevitably things will get screwed up on this machine once I fully start developing. I would like to have an image I can burn on to start from greater than scratch once I have everything installed to my liking. I read the current version of Ghost is horrible. Acronis appears to have good reviews. Any thoughts?

Thanks again to posters like isvara_pranidhana, bone_scar, pdovy and everyone else for all the tips. This thread has been incredibly useful in getting this lappy set up.

 

I added a kingston 1GB DDR2 533 but i had many stability problems, tomorrow i will try with 2 kingston 533 to see if it's a combatibility problem with the 667 dimm. About speed, the one 667 dimm was slower than the 667+533(running at 533 4-4-4).

 

Interesting - according to the specs on their site, I thought the units were supposed to ship with a 533 DIMM. Are you seeing a 667 DIMM on your unit?