ENVY-17 freezes every time full screen video is on

[BPT]

I have an ENVY-17 2090 and every time i play a full screen video online it freezes.  Every time.  What could be causing this? 

[DavidPK · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Try the following.

First, download the Flash uninstall utility on the link below and save it to your Desktop.

http://download.macromedia.com/pub/flashplayer/current/uninstall_flash_player.exe

When the download has completed, close all browser windows and run the uninstaller.  After this has completed, restart the notebook.

Next, download and install Firefox and then using Firefox, download and install the latest version of Adobe Flash.

Close all browser windows before running the Flash installer.

Launch Firefox and see if the videos play Ok - if they do, close Firefox, open IE ( See Note Below ) and click on the same Adobe Flash link above to get a prompt to install the ActiveX component.  When done, restart IE.

Note:  If you have a 64bit installation, make sure you open Internet Explorer and not Internet Explorer64 ) and click on the same Adobe Flash link above to get a prompt to install the ActiveX component.  When done, restart IE.

If you want to use Internet Explorer 64, install Adobe Flash for this browser using the link below.

http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/flashplayer11.html

Regards,

DP-K

[BPT]

Thank you so much!!

So far so good.  I have played a lot of videos back without problem.  On Hulu and YouTube.

If it still freezes up when playing 1080p/720p video on YouTube where should i look next?  Or is that just a limitation of the computer?

[DavidPK]

Hi,

Your notebook should not have a problem playing this, so the best thing to do is to post back here if the problem occurs again.

All the best,

DP-K

[HPHomeUser]

SUMMARY -- READ BELOW FOR MY COMPLETE EXPERIENCE

    DV6tQuadEdition i7-2670QM, 8GB, Bluray, regular hd screen, 7200RPM HD -- Crashed right out of box. Purchased Oct 2011.

    DV7tQuadEdition i7-2670QM, 8GB, Bluray, regular hd screen, 5400RPM HD --- Great no issues, except trackpad.  Purchased Nov 2011.

    Envy 17 2070NR i7-2630, 6GB, Bluray, Full HD, 7200RPM, --- Froze right of box with loud noise coming from computer, not speakers!  Purchased Nov 2011.

    :manhappy::smileyhappy::smileyhappy:DV7tQuadEdition i7-2670QM, 8GB, Bluray, Full HD, 5400RPM HD --- Great no issues, except trackpad again.  Purchased Nov 2011.

 :manmad::smileymad:  Envy 17 Customizable i5-2430QM, 6GB, DVD, Full HD, 7200RPM HD -- Kept freezing and locking entire machine.  Purchased Nov 2011.

My synopsis is that right now HP seems to be having some quality control issues with their Envy machines.  The DV7tQuad is not as good material and look as the Envy, but a great functioning machine.  The Envy machines are really great (look, feel, sound) compared to the DV7t!!!, but something is wrong with the build or the manufactoring.

However, I must say, the thing that kept me from going to Dell after all this is that HP was very accommodating and the sales customer service was always reachable.  

FIRST, I bought an HP DV6tQuad edition customizable.  Waited three weeks for it and one of the keys was down so far it looked as though it was pressed and right after the HP registration(out of the box), it crashed with the windows blue screen.  This scared me and I returned it.

SECOND, I then got a 17 inch quick ship DV7t and I fell in love with big screen, it worked great, but I wanted the faster harddrive and the touchpad kept having problems with continous 2 finger scrolling(i.e. use to fingers to scroll, reach the bottom of the touchpad, and then when you move your fingers to the top of the touchpad again to keep scrolling, it doesn't work).  Big screen is GREAT for watching movies and doing work at home, but heavy for travelling.

THIRD, I got another quickship, the Envy 17 - i7-2630QM - Full HD

It was great, the feel, the look, the screen.  However, while watching Luther on amazon, it froze and began making this loud sound.  Called tech support and they said they knew the problem updated my bios and a bunch of drivers and said it won't happen.  10 mins later it went again.  I shut it down and 10 mins later it happened again.  Also, the battery would periodically fall out everytime I lifted it up.  I called Tech support, no solution.  

FOURTH, I returned it for a DV7tQuad Edition Quickship with the 1080p screen, but slower harddrive and got an accidental warranty. The DV7tQuad worked great.  No issues, no problems, no freezing.  Loved it.  The biggest complaint I have is the two-finger scrolling does not work well.

FIFTH, At the same time, I ordered a customized Envy 17 with an i5-2430 processor.  I figured, it must be the older i7 had something that wasn't fixed, but it was too much money to get the new i7 on the Envy, so went with the i5.  ---- See below for my comparison of the Envy 17 and the DV7t machine.

                                         HP ENVY 17 v. HP DV7tQuad Edition

After 2 weeks or so, I received the Envy i5.  I compared the Full HD screens (1080p). 

-- Both screens are sharp, but the Envy Full HD screen is different.  It gives more definition and looks better.  Not sure if it is the graphics card or the screen, but it is better. 

-- The speakes on the DV7t sound like they have a little tin compared to the Envy.  Hooking up external speakers sounds slightly better on the Envy as well, but not as bad as the differences from the speakers on the laptops.

-- The track pad on the Envy is 100 times better than DV7tQuad. I had no issues with 2 finger scolling, the DV7t has issues with 2 finger scrolling.  It is better to enable the side scroll bar (it does not come enabled).

-- The keys feel so much nicer on the Envy.  Its crazy, I didn't know the difference until I used it. 

THE PROBLEM and why I returned the Envy 17 i5.

Before, I did all the above comparisons, I was on the internet. 

(1)  Right out the box, the computer was doing updates and it asked to update the DVD software.  While downloading a ~90GB file, it froze.  I mean no mouse, no Ctrl-Alt-Delete, nothing.  Let it sit, nothing. 

         I called Tech support.  They refreshed the bios settings, updated the HP Support software, and updated a bunch of drivers, deleted a some temp files and then tried to tell me to disable everything that was listed in the config as starting up with the computer.  I said no to that b/c if this stuff wasn't working right out the box, something was wrong.  Also, it was software like graphics software, the touchpad configuration software, etc. Then the tech changed his tune and said it should be working, he is just giving me suggestions to increase performance. (hmmmmmm). 

         Needless to say, after an hour on the phone and assurance that it would be alright, I installed MS Office.  It went fine.  However, just 15 mins into browsing Amazon.com and using only Internet Explorer, the computer froze again. 

         Called tech support, they said they did everything and I could send it to HP, 9-10 days for a fix.  (Note:  it was not the internet, I had 2 other computers that worked perfectly fine at the same time and the router was not more than 5 feet away from me, and something with the internet should never freeze the whole machine.)

          I restarted the computer, and while MS Windows was doing a security center update, the computer froze again.

(2) When i first took the computer out the box, it had the 6 cell battery in it.  The computer would not turn on.  Ok, I thought the battery was dead.  So, I plug the computer in and immediately it says the battery has 57%, but then why wouldn't the computer turn on?  During the above conversation with the tech he said he fixed this, although I can't confirm that because all the freezing and cost difference led to me returning it. 

I returned the Envy 17 and stuck with the DV7t. 

-------BUYER BEWARE -- THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE HP WARRANTY------

Don't get me wrong, the protection for the price was not bad, but you have to make sure you know what you are going to do with the computer.   

I returned the warranty I purchased with the DV7t because they told me that if I upgraded the harddrive, it voids the warranty on the whole computer, including the accidental.  So it was worthless b/c I wanted a faster harddrive, but did not have the time to wait around for another computer.  --- Exam approaching. 

Also, buyer beware, because if you order a model that has only 6GB ram, like I did, thinking, "oh I have 8GB DDR 1033 ram that I purchased for another computerthat I can use".  If you upgrade the Ram on the computer it voids the entire warranty you purchased.  I asked the tech and they said, even if you get the memory from HP, it will still void the warranty.  So I would have returned the warranty for the Envy also if I kept it. 

[BPT]

Hi you helped me a while back with my ENVY-17 freezing when full screen video is on.  Everything worked, however I still crash at least once every other day and on the weekends (when I'm home) it crashes a couple time a day.  Not really sure where to start looking.   I do notice I am constantly running 100-105 processes.  Would this indicate a possible problem? 

Any input would be greatly appreciated.  I love this computer but do not feel I'm getting the best of it.