*HP dm4t (1XXX series) Owners Lounge!*

[darkprime]

I'm very close to canceling my order from yesterday. I very much wanted a bluray drive in the machine, but couldnt' configure one. I found the maintenance manual here: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02196918.pdf

I scanned it quickly, saw that it claims the optical drive is a 12.7 mm drive, then ordered a dm4t. I then went on ebay and bought a 12.7 mm bluray drive for $70 shipped. All was good, so I thought. When I went to costco today to look at the lapop again, I noticed the drive seemed a lot thinner than I expected. Then I went back to the manual, and searched for "9.5". What do you know, another section of the guide claims the drive is a 9.5mm one afterall. I might try some surgery to make the bluray drive I bought fit in it, or I might try returning it. Does anyone think HP would give me some money back to keep the laptop instead of returning it? The best I can find on a 9.5 mm bluray drive is $500 by the way.

[toxicmegacolon]

Question to all you HP DM4T owners out there. Can anyone please reply to this original post as I am interested as well.

"Any one wanna share there experience on "instant-on mode" of dm4t. can you browse web over wifi on it ?"

And have you guys got used to the track-pad on this machine or have you just abandoned it in favor of using a mouse? This is very important for me as I have been using ONLY the track pad of my HP's for the last 4 years and I don't want to start using a mouse.

Thanks

I haven't tried using the instant on mode, but that is because there is really no need to. If I am going to use my computer again soon, I just shut the lid and let it go to sleep. It comes back on from sleep in ~3 seconds. Otherwise, I hibernate it, and it takes ~10 seconds to start from hibernation. So I haven't felt the need for a faster start-up. The start-up screen lets you browse the internet though, so I'm pretty positive it would work with Wifi... wouldn't be much point to it otherwise.

As far as the trackpad goes, I think it works great. I upped the sensitivity, and it responds to all my multi-touch gestures just fine. I think the key is to have a light touch - on my old Acer, I had to really press and drag if I wanted to move the cursor. This computer responds much better to less forceful pressure, and the multi-touch gesturing works better as well.

Some people have noted that when they type, they accidentally touch the keypad causing a click or making the cursor move. I haven't had that happen, though it may be due to personal differences in typing posture. I have noticed that resting a thumb on the pad (anywhere except for the very bottom edge, that is) can make the cursor jump. I would say that this could be a problem for you if you really need to use your thumb - I just treat it like a Macbook trackpad, and use my index or middle finger for everything since tapping anywhere on the pad registers a "click". A small issue is that sometimes I have to repeat click and drag gestures due to my thumb not pressing on the very bottom edge of the trackpad, but it works fine if I am attentive to my thumb placement. It's still easier to C&D on this trackpad than any other I've used, and the negative points I mentioned are really nitpicking. Overall it works great for me, and I actually prefer using it to using a mouse.

[theskeptik]

I'm very close to canceling my order from yesterday. I very much wanted a bluray drive in the machine, but couldnt' configure one. I found the maintenance manual here: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02196918.pdf

I scanned it quickly, saw that it claims the optical drive is a 12.7 mm drive, then ordered a dm4t. I then went on ebay and bought a 12.7 mm bluray drive for $70 shipped. All was good, so I thought. When I went to costco today to look at the lapop again, I noticed the drive seemed a lot thinner than I expected. Then I went back to the manual, and searched for "9.5". What do you know, another section of the guide claims the drive is a 9.5mm one afterall. I might try some surgery to make the bluray drive I bought fit in it, or I might try returning it. Does anyone think HP would give me some money back to keep the laptop instead of returning it? The best I can find on a 9.5 mm bluray drive is $500 by the way.

Why on earth would they do that?
They probably haven't shipped your order yet so they will just refund and probably reccomend other models with blu ray.

[daddymacnrei5859]

Just wanted to post my 2 cents on the 6 cell battery. There have been a few posts saying they've gotten 4.5 to 5 hours. The best I've seen is 3.5 hours from 100% down to 10%. So maybe close to 4hrs at best if I had let it run all the way down. The only thing I've done during that time is have about 3 or 4 browser windows open with very little browsing in any of them and the screen dimmed 2 clicks. So not all that impressed if you ask me. I did get the 9 cell as well so hopefully that will pan out to its reported 8+ hours.

[urbanglowcam]

Just wanted to post my 2 cents on the 6 cell battery. There have been a few posts saying they've gotten 4.5 to 5 hours. The best I've seen is 3.5 hours from 100% down to 10%. So maybe close to 4hrs at best if I had let it run all the way down. The only thing I've done during that time is have about 3 or 4 browser windows open with very little browsing in any of them and the screen dimmed 2 clicks. So not all that impressed if you ask me. I did get the 9 cell as well so hopefully that will pan out to its reported 8+ hours.

Did you get the standard 6 cell battery or the 6 cell HIGH CAPACITY? Just curious.

[nando2703]

I got impatient and purchased the Sony Vaio Blue Label at best buy today. It has everything I need and even though it cost 1049$, I think it's perfect. I would have purchased the dm4t if it had the backlit keyboard :/ but this vaio is 1 inch smaller and has a DVD drive, so I think I made the right choice for my needs

[issy]

I have a question for those who already have their DM4Ts --

Is there any way to configure the trackpad so that the buttons are NOT part of the trackpad? I kinda don't like that the buttons also function as areas for moving the cursor... I've found that sometimes when I've positioned my cursor somewhere, putting my finger on the button to click it would cause it to move again. It's not that big a deal, I guess, but still kind of annoying.

And a bit of a peeve: for shortcuts like Alt+F4, F5 for refresh, etc that I use often, I have to press the Fn key. Is there a way to choose which ones would need the Fn key? Or is there a way to change its functions? I don't think I'll ever need keys for media (back, play/pause, stop, next) so I wouldn't mind changing what they're for. It's also too easy to turn wi-fi off with the F12 key, and I've pressed it accidentally a few times because the keyboard isn't backlit and I was trying to go for the mute button. Arg.

Mine arrived great, no problems with it or anything. I've done a clean install and everything seems okay. I only got the standard battery though so the most I've gotten out of a full charge is about 3.5H, if I remember correctly. Still hoping that it'd increase after a couple cycles.

Overall, I am really loving this computer, especially its size and weight! I'm glad I went for this instead of the 13" MBP since I'm very happy with it AND I saved a lot!

[soadquake981]

I have a question for those who already have their DM4Ts --

Is there any way to configure the trackpad so that the buttons are NOT part of the trackpad? I kinda don't like that the buttons also function as areas for moving the cursor... I've found that sometimes when I've positioned my cursor somewhere, putting my finger on the button to click it would cause it to move again. It's not that big a deal, I guess, but still kind of annoying.

And a bit of a peeve: for shortcuts like Alt+F4, F5 for refresh, etc that I use often, I have to press the Fn key. Is there a way to choose which ones would need the Fn key? Or is there a way to change its functions? I don't think I'll ever need keys for media (back, play/pause, stop, next) so I wouldn't mind changing what they're for. It's also too easy to turn wi-fi off with the F12 key, and I've pressed it accidentally a few times because the keyboard isn't backlit and I was trying to go for the mute button. Arg.

Mine arrived great, no problems with it or anything. I've done a clean install and everything seems okay. I only got the standard battery though so the most I've gotten out of a full charge is about 3.5H, if I remember correctly. Still hoping that it'd increase after a couple cycles.

Overall, I am really loving this computer, especially its size and weight! I'm glad I went for this instead of the 13" MBP since I'm very happy with it AND I saved a lot!

I read on a Youtube comment for the dm3 that your problem can be solved by entering the BIOS menu at startup, and disabling "Action Keys", or something similar. I believe that should work for the dm4 as well.

[daddymacnrei5859]

Did you get the standard 6 cell battery or the 6 cell HIGH CAPACITY? Just curious.

Standard 6 cell. But I would guess you wouldn't get much more out of the high capacity version. Maybe another 20-30 minutes. As mentioned in a later post - hopefully it gets a little better after a few battery cycles. Not a deal breaker for me, but always think it's funny when companies boast long battery life and it's almost always a few hours less than they claim when all is said and done. Maybe if I just left the computer on the lowest screen brightness and did nothing I'd get 5.5 hours. But even then it's highly doubtful.

[soadquake981]

Standard 6 cell. But I would guess you wouldn't get much more out of the high capacity version. Maybe another 20-30 minutes. As mentioned in a later post - hopefully it gets a little better after a few battery cycles. Not a deal breaker for me, but always think it's funny when companies boast long battery life and it's almost always a few hours less than they claim when all is said and done. Maybe if I just left the computer on the lowest screen brightness and did nothing I'd get 5.5 hours. But even then it's highly doubtful.

That's very interesting, since reviews and other users have claimed to get at least 5 hours of battery life with the standard 6-cell. Have you tried a full calibration yet (charging to 100% capacity and then letting it fully discharge, with Windows Power Management turned off)? That might help a bit.