The HP Laptop Out-Of-The-Box Guide 2.0 for Windows 7

[oblio98]

Originally Posted by Mr. Fox

It's probably an issue with the old driver not uninstalling properly. AMD/ATI drivers are notorious for having this problem. Simply uninstalling is not enough and installing new on top of old is a recipe for problems with AMD. It may also, indeed, be a problem with the integrated graphics being in use rather than AMD, which could prevent the installation from happening. The AMD discreet graphics driver needs to be installed before the Intel IGP.

Uninstall the drivers for the Intel IGP in Control Panel and reboot. Then follow the steps below.

1. Go into Windows Contol Panel and uninstall all AMD/ATI software
2. Download and run Phyxion.net - Driver Sweeper - check the box for AMD/ATI software, clean and reboot
3. Download and run CCleaner - use the registry tool to delete all the invalid keys (which will include obsolete AMD/ATI references)
4. Install the 11.7 Catalyst Package or 11.8 Catalyst Preview

Download from the links above. If you already downloaded AMD Catalyst packages, don't reuse what you downloaded. Delete them and download drivers fresh from the sources provided.

After the AMD drivers install successfully, reinstall the IGP drivers. I'd recommend going with the Intel series 6 HD graphics family driver that you can download directly from Intel.

If this does not cure your problem, poke around on this forum's threads for the Alienware M17x R3, as it has a similar switchable graphics system and there have been some challenges for some folks installing video drivers.

Mr. Fox,

Thanks for your detailed and very well laid out reply. I appreciate it a lot. However, I actually solved my issue before I got your reply, so I will list what I did here in case others find themselves in the same boat.

I went crazy trying everything, including installing the Windows Install Cleaning Utility to remove the ATI drivers, and nothing worked. Everytime I uninstalled the 6770 from the device manager, windows reinstalled it's driver upon reboot, and then I could not install my downloaded driver.

So, I somehow stumbled on a solution that worked as follows:

a) Browse to the ATI directory created by running the install package.
b) Look for a folder called Apps
c) There will be a slew of subfolders off of 'Apps'. Browse each one, one at a time, starting with CCC or CCC2.
d) In each folder there will be a file with an 'msi' extension. Right click each one and select INSTALL. You will watch every one of these suckers install right before your eyes!
e) If you are presented with a choice of a 32 or 64 subdirectory, choose the one that matches your OS.
f) This is a real hard slam way to install this stuff, but when you're done, and you reboot, you will be all set.

Make sure you do every directory and every subdirectory.

[Mr. Fox]

oblio98 - I'm so glad you got it sorted. These kinds of issues can sometimes be maddening to resolved. I have used your workaround before and it does work. There were a number of Alienware M17x R2 owners that posted that method. The best approach to updating video drivers, including NVIDIA but most especially AMD/ATI is to totally wipe out everything as I posted. AMD Catalyst Install Manager does a poor job of uninstalling and CCC often fails to install or run when updating to a new Catalyst package if there are any traces of the old version. Have a great weekend.

[gu1t4r5tud]

Mr. Fox,

Once again, the problem has returned.
svchost.exe *32 is back to haunt me.
It's been about a month since the problem ended but now it's back and I don't know how to fix it.
I tried reinstalling ATI graphics drivers to older versions with no success.
It would be appreciated if you could look into this issue one more time.
Thank you.

[oblio98]

Originally Posted by Mr. Fox

oblio98 - I'm so glad you got it sorted. These kinds of issues can sometimes be maddening to resolved. I have used your workaround before and it does work. There were a number of Alienware M17x R2 owners that posted that method. The best approach to updating video drivers, including NVIDIA but most especially AMD/ATI is to totally wipe out everything as I posted. AMD Catalyst Install Manager does a poor job of uninstalling and CCC often fails to install or run when updating to a new Catalyst package if there are any traces of the old version. Have a great weekend.

On last response to this all, for those who stumble into this problem. I finally got my replacement SSD from Newegg, so I did the whole thing over again. This time, I did not activate my WiFi until AFTER I loaded the Video Drivers. This prevented Windows Update from installing the AMD drivers it thought I needed. Doing it this way, it worked perfectly. So, to wrap this up:

IF YOU DO A CLEAN INSTALL for a dv7 with dual graphics, DO NOT GO ONLINE until you load the graphics drivers (you previously downloaded in preparation of the clean install)

This way, Windows cannot automatically install drivers, which will screw you up going forward. Install the AMD drivers first, and the Intel graphics drivers will automatically install on their own.

[Benito3000]

Hi everyone, I don't know if people are still checking this thread, but some help would be much appreciated!

First off great guide- I did a clean install, following all the steps (and using some outside information). I've never done anything like this before and it went very smoothly.

Now I have my squeaky clean Envy 14 with absolutely nothing on it- I also have the recovery disks and backed-up swsetup. This is where my problems started...

I didn't know which drivers to install from the swsetup! I realise that this guide was generic and applies to multiple hp laptops, but there are certain things which I want back (eg beats audio software etc) that I don't know how to obtain. The swsetup isnt very clear and it's hard to know which folders correspond to which components.

So far, I spent about two hours getting the wireless up and running. Then had to sift around a bit more to find the ati drivers. Now there are a few things that I know are still missing, such as audio drivers/software and perhaps things that I need that I am not even aware of...

Is there a guide for reinstalling all necessary drivers? I feel like I got to a certain part in your guide and then simply got lost...

Just to reiterate, your guide was excellent and I hope this doesnt come across as if I am complaining, I just feel slightly lost!

[Mr. Fox]

Benito3000 - rather than trying to sort out the stuff in your SWSETUP folder (which does not have clearly labeled sub-folders), it would probably be easier and faster to just go to the HP Support web site and download/install new drivers from there.

[sanjie]

guys what's the worst case scenario when doing this clean installation?

[stringer7]

Originally Posted by sanjie

guys what's the worst case scenario when doing this clean installation?

Worst case = a few hours in the company of the hp recovery discs you made before starting

[stringer7]

Followed this with no problems, now running clean install 7 home premium sp1 with blackviper tweaks
Tip: I downloaded all current drivers from hp site to usb and have not needed to touch swsetup; restored only the following drivers for full functionality seen in device manager:

• IDT audio
• Intel chipset installation
• USB 3.0 host
• AMD graphics
• Synaptics touchpad
• Atheros LAN
• Intel PROset

Oddly, I could not get AMD to install until after I had run windows update a few times, other posts contradict this.

[VAIO-II]

Hello,

I've just recently got my HP EliteBook 8560P.

I'm trying to follow this guide but I'm stuck on step one : 1. CREATE HP RECOVERY DISCS

I can't find "CREATE HP RECOVERY DISCS" anywhere on my system plus my HP Assist crashes all the time upon Windows startup.

What I do have is "Set up backup" from Windows Action Centre, however that gives me the HP_RECOVER & HP_TOOLS drive which are in 15.86 & 4.99 GB each respectively - I'm sure that's not what I'm suppose to back up.

Your help would be greatly appreciated as I want to get tweaking the system (even though I've began implementing BlackViper's list and my own registry changes).

Thanks