9.04 and 9.10 on a HP Envy 15

[irwjager]

Hi,

Thought I'd share my experiences installing Jaunty and Karmic on a HP Envy 15.

9.04 Installs, boots.
9.10 Installs, boots.

What's working; WiFi, Battery/AC, Suspend & Resume

What's not working; Thermal Zone sensors, Fan control

What's semi-working; Sound/Mic (shows up in ALSA mixer, doesn't output, nor records any sound see fix below), VGA (on 9.04, colours botched when switching to text terminal and back again, on 9.10 colours are fine but text/fonts are botched, on 9.10 fonts are fixed when text is redrawn, background also botched on 9.10 when fading while displaying gksudo), on 9.04 stability (installation/upgrades hangs regularly with system becoming increasingly non-responsive, have not noticed this on 9.10 yet)

Due to mentioned problems 9.04 and 9.10 are really a no-go on this machine. Both 64-bit and 32-bit were tested with similar results.

Bug filed for Thermal Zone and Fans (https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/463940)
Bug filed for Screen corruption (https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/463959)

Update: Sound now fully working; Luke Yelavich from Canonical suggested to install linux-backports-modules-alsa-karmic-generic and rebooting.
Update2: The HP Pavillion DV6T QUAD Edition seems to suffer from the same problems.

[bongey]

Was looking into getting one of these. I just am scared of ATI video cards.

Just wondering are you running the ati drivers or the open source ones?
Does direct rendering work at all?

[irwjager]

Was looking into getting one of these. I just am scared of ATI video cards.

Just wondering are you running the ati drivers or the open source ones?
Does direct rendering work at all?

While I haven't been able to get the ATI card to work on the Envy as of yet, ATI has come a long way in supporting Linux. The (recent) ATI card on my Desktop runs fine using the latest Catalyst drivers.

[mjbommar]

I just received my dv6t with an 820QM which suffers from the same issues. I noted this in your bug report on Launchpad...

On the DV6 BIOS screen, there's a "Keep fan always on" option that might be breaking compliance...I'll see if it makes a difference.

[mjbommar]

If you're interested in or bought one of these machines, please let HP know that this affects you:
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/psg/board/message?board.id=OS&message.id=22292#M22292

[jdos2]

Ubuntu 9.10.

Before the change to X 1.6, the accelerated closed source stuff from ATI was fantastic. 3D worked extremely well.

Of course, the mid-flight update to the new version of X destroyed the ability to run the ATI driver. Now, just say that at a developer party and see how bad the finger pointing gets...

After all Ubuntu 9.10 updates current to 18 December 2009 the box is stable and useable.

For X, just use the opensource driver.
For sound, modify the line in /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf to read:
options snd-hda-intel power_save=10 power_save_controller=N model=hp-dv5 enable_msi=1

Ethernet works fine.
Bluetooth works fine.
Keyboard... Well, it's not as nice as Apple's and mine has a sticky '/' key which seems to be getting better, the more I use it.
Reading CD's with the included USB connected reader/writer is fine. WRITING them is another matter and the device fails under Ubuntu. I'm not sure if it fails under Windows, which I can't test yet. Underruns are a problem at all speeds.

The touchpad is a bother. No drivers for it yet except as a generic "mouse" type device. Annoying when typing as it is sensitive and will send the cursor somewhere unexpected and then CLICK there if one brushes it with one's thumb. There's no right-click of course. I use an Apple USB mouse and it works just fine.

Otherwise, it's a fast laptop. There's a bit of back and forth about which side the problem is on for ACPI- and it looks like it's a problem back on the Linux side, with "when" the kernel handles ACPI. Know that the latest OpenSolaris also has trouble with the exact same thing. Opensolaris won't install for a lack of a driver, too, for the RAID0 disks.
My laptop idles with the sensors applet showing about 40c.

I don't know if "turboboost" is working. I've not tried really hard with single threaded applications to get the CPU's to bump up.

Booting from the batteries does give a much better readout (CSTATES) in powertop- which is NOT installed by default.

Overall, I'm not exactly happy with my experience so far- but I realize that the laptop is new and the experience will almost certainly improve as time goes on. Patches for the touchpad are in the works. Appropriate kernel bugs are opened up for the ACPI troubles. ATI WILL eventually get a driver that'll work with the newer versions of X. Someone will fix the USB port drivers (well, or not- and I'll get a new CD reader)
With Linux, it's no MacBook Pro killer, yet. With some work, it might well be.

Did I mention it's fast? I mean, it's very fast. It boots up before my Thinkpad a20m can bring up the boot splash screen for Ubuntu. It eats batteries for lunch, but the included so-called "slice" battery has a huge capacity and is good for somewhere around 4 hours, the way I work.

Anyway. I blew away Windows 7 before I even had a chance to use it- wiping the disks clean meant that I didn't get a chance to see how the fast booting included Linux worked. I just updated the BIOS (to 07) and ran. I'll be restoring everything and trying a different kind of install, perhaps dual booting with Windows 7, more likely just to keep it around for the BIOS updates.

Did I mention that it's fast?

[josephellengar]

Ubuntu 9.10.

Before the change to X 1.6, the accelerated closed source stuff from ATI was fantastic. 3D worked extremely well.

Of course, the mid-flight update to the new version of X destroyed the ability to run the ATI driver. Now, just say that at a developer party and see how bad the finger pointing gets...

After all Ubuntu 9.10 updates current to 18 December 2009 the box is stable and useable.

For X, just use the opensource driver.
For sound, modify the line in /etc/modprobe.d/alsa-base.conf to read:
options snd-hda-intel power_save=10 power_save_controller=N model=hp-dv5 enable_msi=1

Ethernet works fine.
Bluetooth works fine.
Keyboard... Well, it's not as nice as Apple's and mine has a sticky '/' key which seems to be getting better, the more I use it.
Reading CD's with the included USB connected reader/writer is fine. WRITING them is another matter and the device fails under Ubuntu. I'm not sure if it fails under Windows, which I can't test yet. Underruns are a problem at all speeds.

The touchpad is a bother. No drivers for it yet except as a generic "mouse" type device. Annoying when typing as it is sensitive and will send the cursor somewhere unexpected and then CLICK there if one brushes it with one's thumb. There's no right-click of course. I use an Apple USB mouse and it works just fine.

Otherwise, it's a fast laptop. There's a bit of back and forth about which side the problem is on for ACPI- and it looks like it's a problem back on the Linux side, with "when" the kernel handles ACPI. Know that the latest OpenSolaris also has trouble with the exact same thing. Opensolaris won't install for a lack of a driver, too, for the RAID0 disks.
My laptop idles with the sensors applet showing about 40c.

I don't know if "turboboost" is working. I've not tried really hard with single threaded applications to get the CPU's to bump up.

Booting from the batteries does give a much better readout (CSTATES) in powertop- which is NOT installed by default.

Overall, I'm not exactly happy with my experience so far- but I realize that the laptop is new and the experience will almost certainly improve as time goes on. Patches for the touchpad are in the works. Appropriate kernel bugs are opened up for the ACPI troubles. ATI WILL eventually get a driver that'll work with the newer versions of X. Someone will fix the USB port drivers (well, or not- and I'll get a new CD reader)
With Linux, it's no MacBook Pro killer, yet. With some work, it might well be.

Did I mention it's fast? I mean, it's very fast. It boots up before my Thinkpad a20m can bring up the boot splash screen for Ubuntu. It eats batteries for lunch, but the included so-called "slice" battery has a huge capacity and is good for somewhere around 4 hours, the way I work.

Anyway. I blew away Windows 7 before I even had a chance to use it- wiping the disks clean meant that I didn't get a chance to see how the fast booting included Linux worked. I just updated the BIOS (to 07) and ran. I'll be restoring everything and trying a different kind of install, perhaps dual booting with Windows 7, more likely just to keep it around for the BIOS updates.

Did I mention that it's fast?

So, just wondering what you have to say to the complaints in this thread: http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Operating-systems-and-software/BIOS-broken-on-HP-Envy-15-and-DV6T-Quad/m-p/151225
I'm not an expert on this stuff, but I am serious considering buying this computer, so I thought I'd ask an owner first. 1) Is it a real hassle to boot up with the computer plugged in? It seems to me like the lack of C states would just be a battery killer, not necessarily an actual problem.
2) About the mouse, you can point with it but not click? I understand that it has a right and left click but you only mentioned the left click? Can it be disabled if one chooses to use a bluetooth mouse? (Does the lack of a driver mean that one cannot disable tap-to-click)
3) I've read that the turboboost feature doesn't work on any linux notebook, including the Asus ones. Could you possibly look at that? I'm really not interested in buying an i7 if I can't take advantage of it's most important feature ... you know. Thanks for any response.

[josephellengar]

Anybody?

[josephellengar]

Bump

[jdos2]

Good news on the ACPI namespace read as mentioned in the HP hosted thread:

http://lkml.org/lkml/2009/12/20/146


Just hope it's accepted quickly.

That'll make the machine rather more functional.

I'm not avoiding answering the question about the powerboost- I really don't know if the machine is using it when called on to do so- It is so fast that very little of what I do lasts long enough to really push the machine into that kind of operation. That'll change as I change the way I work.
The only thing I do that takes any CPU, honestly, is to do a listc of the 'sys1.' namespace on my Hercules instance and that takes... Less than a second.
I'm going to be reloading the laptop with original software when the install disks come in that I can do patching (another firmware patch is rumored "just around the corner" and also do a more intelligent job of partitioning- just blasting everything away has had a price!

[josephellengar]

Good news on the ACPI namespace read as mentioned in the HP hosted thread:

http://lkml.org/lkml/2009/12/20/146


Just hope it's accepted quickly.

That'll make the machine rather more functional.

I'm not avoiding answering the question about the powerboost- I really don't know if the machine is using it when called on to do so- It is so fast that very little of what I do lasts long enough to really push the machine into that kind of operation. That'll change as I change the way I work.
The only thing I do that takes any CPU, honestly, is to do a listc of the 'sys1.' namespace on my Hercules instance and that takes... Less than a second.
I'm going to be reloading the laptop with original software when the install disks come in that I can do patching (another firmware patch is rumored "just around the corner" and also do a more intelligent job of partitioning- just blasting everything away has had a price!

No problem. So is that a kernel update that would have to be distributed to all of the distros? Because I know that Ubuntu, at least, never uses the latest kernel until the next release out.

[jdos2]

No problem. So is that a kernel update that would have to be distributed to all of the distros? Because I know that Ubuntu, at least, never uses the latest kernel until the next release out.

Or you'd build your own.
Right now, the current kernel against which the patch works has "other issues" before it'll be part of Ubuntu (2.6.33-rc1), but things are moving right along. Since kernel builds take about 15 minutes on an Envy, it's not very hard to test things!

[auslander]

Anybody build their own kernel with this patch yet? Would love to know if it fixes the ACPI issues and makes this a usable machine. I'm pretty close to getting one, but want to know it'll work well soon... running Win7 for work is a non-starter.

Thanks!

[jdos2]

With a modern Ubuntu build (2.6.33-020633rc2-generic), no ACPI errors.

I don't think the Clickpad patch is applied to this particular kernel, but ACPI is working.

Still have graphics corruption for the darkening overlays. That's another issue altogether.

[auslander]

With a modern Ubuntu build (2.6.33-020633rc2-generic), no ACPI errors.

I don't think the Clickpad patch is applied to this particular kernel, but ACPI is working.

Still have graphics corruption for the darkening overlays. That's another issue altogether.

Cool, good to hear it. How do you like that machine overall? Looks like some people think it's too hot, but the one I played with at BestBuy was warm, not too bad. Maybe some extra cooling fins on the underside or something would help :-)

[jdos2]

Mine came with the "slice" battery, which provides a buffer . When I was very cold at the GF's house I took the slice off and used the heat from the bottom of the laptop to help warm my legs.

Idling, it's as warm as my MacBook Pro playing WoW. According to powertop, it's consuming around 45-55 watts at idle (when it deign provide ACPI information). Thankfully, even when it's working hard (playing Eve- "105-110%" CPU) it doesn't get warmer on the legs- just more warm air flung from the sides of the unit.

I hope that BIOS patches, OS work, &c. help bring the power consumption down to something reasonable. I read somewhere someone was bragging about seven hours battery with the thing. Neither Linux or Windows 7 are capable of performing to THAT standard on this machine!

You asked how I like the machine- and I neglected to answer until the first edit:
I do like the machine. It's a substantial laptop, with a fair bit of weight. To be fair, it's really more of a desktop replacement than a laptop- made evident by the low screen angle: the back-bend on the screen is limited to being "just comfortable" on the lap- being better on a desk.
Linux isn't completely comfortable on the machine just yet. Audio is fine, and everything works fast enough with the very modern kernels, but driver problems persist- the touchpad is... A Real Pain, there's no dragging with it so far as I can get to work (though there is a careful right click- modern kernels again). Video is not great with the Open Source drivers- as there's corruption in certain circumstances (VLC menus suffer badly) and the pallet is completely wrong when waking from sleep (which does work fine, by the way). The CLOSED source drivers were freakin' outstanding, but Ubuntu fixed that when they mid-stream updated X to a version incompatible with them. Audio still takes a bit of a massage, but nothing terrible.
I like the keyboard. I was one to deride the Chicklet-style keyboard on IBM's PC jr. a while back (ahem) but Apple really did it well on their PowerBooks, and this is even better- there's simply more room on the Envy 15. When I GOT the laptop, I had to take the '/' key out because there was a wee screw underneath it that was... "Extra" (never found to where it was supposed to go!).
Fit is okay- kinda plastic, and the case of the laptop scratches far easier than I'd like (PowerBook has been overseas, on long motorcycle trips, &c- no scratches. This has been to work with me a couple times during the "Freeze" and it's got scratches)

It's fast. Really fast. Kernel compilation in 20 minutes (with MY lag included) at -j8.

If I use the Apple mouse I carry around to use with it, about 1/2 of my complaints go away. If ATI could get the closed source video working again, I'd be "almost there." (or makes a serious effort at the open sourced drivers- for 3D too) Someone figures out the power problems (powertop reports a "USB device on 100%") and gets the Clickpad (tm, I'm sure) working right, and it'll be Poifect for what I want to do with it- and if all THAT comes about, I'll probably dump Windows 7 on it and go with a much simpler solution for partitioning, &c.

Oh! The instant on software is fun.

[msrinath80]

Can someone please comment on whether the "Turbo Boost" functionality is usable with the latest Kernels? Thanks!

[jdos2]

Can someone please comment on whether the "Turbo Boost" functionality is usable with the latest Kernels? Thanks!

Yup. See the flag for "ida" right in the /proc/cpuinfo.

[msrinath80]

Thanks jdos2. Do you see the realtime turbo frequency when you issue cat /proc/cpuinfo? If not, how do you determine if turbo mode has kicked in? Have you verified it using [1]?

[1] http://code.google.com/p/i7z/

[jdos2]

One won't see the increase in /proc/cpuinfo- for several reasons- but I will say that Hercules performs quite nearly identically between Windows 7 and Linux- the MIPS's are reported number-for-number slightly higher on Linux, and at the time, the Intel monitor on Windows is reporting the appropriate single-core 110% speed.
So far as implementing a monitor on Linux, feel free.

There's not much for the OS to do with the IDA. It's something that's done by the processor.

http://www.lesswatts.org/projects/processor-power/dynamic-acceleration.php (<- That's Intel)

[neondiet]

Ubuntu 9.10.

Before the change to X 1.6, the accelerated closed source stuff from ATI was fantastic. 3D worked extremely well.


If you've got one of the earlier models with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4830 graphics then have you tried the latest ATI Catalyst 9.12 driver? It was released on 1/27/2010 and the Release Notes list that chipset as supported, plus in the "Support for New Operating Systems" section, it shows Ubuntu 9.10 as fully supported now.

That's the good news. The not so good news is that HP appear to have updated the HP Envy range recently to give you the option of either a Core i5 or Core i7 cpu. At the same time they've also updated the graphics to the newer ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5830, which is not on the ATI Catalyst 9.12 driver's supported list. So if you've not already got an Envy and want to buy a new one you're buggered until ATI catch up again :-(

[akos.maroy]

I wonder how you guys installed Ubuntu on the Envy 15? When I try the Ubuntu install disk, I get an "Unable to find a medium containing a live file system" error from BusyBox. I can't get neither the Ubuntu installer, nor the Live CD to get on...

what am I doing wrong?

[akos.maroy]

since then I managed to make it work by using a bootable USB drive. but I have two major issues at hand:

grub wasn't installed, and it doesn't want to install either. it has a problem with the intel hardware raid in the laptop, as it is not able to recognize the /dev/mapper/isw_cdfcbdcfed_RAID-0 device, even if I put it into /boot/grub/device.map. I can only boot the laptop by using the super grub boot USB stick, and then manually booting the Linux partition. (wonder why this is not done by the 'official' ubuntu grub)

the second issue is with the wifi card, which is always noted as 'device not ready' by NetworkManager (no, it's not turned off, then it says its turned off). lspci says the following about the device:



03:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Device 4239 (rev 35)
Subsystem: Intel Corporation Device 1311
Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 35
Memory at d3000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
Capabilities: <access denied>
Kernel driver in use: iwlagn
Kernel modules: iwlagn


this is on 9.10, with everything updated to the latest.

smaller annoyances like the trackpad are for later....

[pankajmore]

With a modern Ubuntu build (2.6.33-020633rc2-generic), no ACPI errors.

I don't think the Clickpad patch is applied to this particular kernel, but ACPI is working.

Still have graphics corruption for the darkening overlays. That's another issue altogether.
I have a bios bug which can only be resolved by booting with acpi=off in ubuntu.Actually since its due to a bug in the kernel none of the linux distros seem to boot without acpi=off option. It seems the ACPI problem is fixed in 2.6.33-020633rc2-generic.And the latest stable kernel is 2.6.34.
Can you plz explain how kernel development cycle works?
Can you please tell me how to know if the latest stable kernel includes that fix? I tried compiling and using the 2.6.34 but still it doesnt work. How can i get 2.6.33-020633rc2-generic kernel?
Do i always need to compile it or i can simply "install" them?

[sidzen]

Stay away from HP/Compaq -- built-in proprietory functions inhibit anything not pre-defined, it seems.
See post by zenwalker in linuxforums.org on the same matter re: HP.
Dell loads ubuntu on some of their machines -- a good indication!