Random volume control popup HDX 16

[irritatedwithhp]

I also just recieved my box... was told by a computer tech that what may be the problem is the video card is known to overheat and if left unfixed can melt the motherboard.  Don't know how true that is but my laptop will be getting sent out (again... the first trip to HP didn't change anything) shortly and having a new video card put into it.... hoping that is what the problem is and that it is fixed.

[lithiumstorm]

 slopezjr ,  the different bars are from the different software. ie. the mediasmart has a double tone bar , where windows just uses a one bar popup for each. So it from your software and programs.

[lithiumstorm]

jedimark1984:  If you have updated your bios and are still having the problem it is probably the same I had. Mine would popup and turn off my wifi. Mine had a loose connection where the flat wire connects to the quicklaunch bar. My guess would be that more are having this problem since it seems to have a connection that breaks easy on one side after you put it on . Since I have fixed it, I have no problem with it. I am only sorry that it wasn't an easier fix. ei. driver.. Etc..  I would imagine that the loose connection is making it popup do to the heat and vibration from the laptop making a connection there, now and then... I hope this helps you and anyone else with the problem cause I know it was frustrating for me..

                                                                                                                                                  Good luck,  Chad

[munkster1]

I just finished spending 3 1/2 hours with desktop support. We updated bios, and every other thing they could think of but nothing worked. The slide bars still popup and the wireless goes down. I was told I most likely need to send it in for repairs. Since I was out of warranty by 124 days it was going to cost me between $298 and $1,000.  So lets see, what is the better path - Trash this HP and any ideas of buying another HP or going to another brand say DELL. hmmm can't wait to pass this info on the HP laptops to the MIS director of the fortune 500 company I work for.   HP good luck in the future because you presents is worthless. Can't believe I've spent this much money for a door stop.

[slopezjr]

i sent my laptop back to hp and i got my laptop back rather quick and was surprised. for the 1st few weeks it worked fine but within the last couple of days it has started acting up again. i emailed hp and i am going to have to send it back

[HaggisCat]

Before you go off and buy a Dell check out my experience:

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Operating-systems-and-software/Dell-is-no-saint-either/m-p/224149#M3291...

I would go for Sony, Toshiba etc, but not Dell.

[ds148809]

so what did you do to fix the connection lithiumstorm? mine is now out of warranty because hp **bleep**ed me over.

[bonesdad]

OK, I have posted in each of the first three topics that are at the top of the board as of right now (9/18).  All three topics are the same...and across several models of HP laptops.  This is a hardware problem...it won't get fixed unless you send to HP or are handy enough to try to fix it yourself.  If you are in warranty, send it in, see if they can fix it.  If not in warranty, either pay up to try to have it fixed, or find a way to live with it (or toss your HP notebook and try try again!).  This is a big problem with these products and HP will NOT step up to fix it.  Been far too long for them to admit to an issue now.

[brian220x]

Here is the fix I came up with to fix the design flaw.

It is NOT a software or driver issue... The only issue that is partially software related is the tone control but it is caused by a hardware issue. The main problem that really got to me is the Wifi turning itself off. I permanently fixed my laptop and found the actual cause. I am an engineer and I design and research electronics test equipment. I am actually very surprised that HP has not invested a small amount of resources to solve this design flaw. I was able to do it in a few hours along with some research. Other users have done a fix that is almost like this but mine is a permanent and complete solution. After applying my fix, I found that my Wifi signal strength seems to have improved.

For once I can say that my DV8T works without any problems. I no longer have to avoid using the volume or mute button...

Keep in mind that this fix will only work for the design defect that it is meant to solve. If you have other contributing issues they may still remain. The cause that is addressed by this fix is the most common issue so chances are that if you follow the instructions, you will have good results.

Here is my post from another thread on HP about my fix:

I just finished putting it back together and it works perfectly! On my system it was very easy to test because when I pushed just above the F9 key the mute and Wifi would go crazy %100 percent of the time. Well, it does not malfunction, no matter where I press or how hard. I can press any of the capacitive touch buttons without any issues for the first time ever.

There are two parts to the problem. The first is the static grounding and shielding. The second is the exposed metal end caps of the LIF connector. This is the connector that the ribbon cable plugs into on the LED board. When I pressed on the LED before the revision, the exposed metal case of the connector would transfer the static charge to the housing just below it and cause a misfire of the cap touch circuit, triggering an actuation when it was not desired. This also occured randomly when the static charge potential reached high enough levels and jumped to ground also causing an unwanted actuation.

The solution was to shield the ribbon cable with high temp thin foil tape and increase the surface area of the existing foil tape ground pad that it rests on. I also secured the ribbon cable to the ground pad with additional strips of foil tape. Next I covered the LIF connector with Kapton tape to insulate it but left enough room to still plug the cable in. Once the metal connector housing was insulated I placed thin strips of foil tape over it still leaving the connector open for the ribbon cable. A good reference to use is the plastic slide lock that is pushed in to secure the end of the cable to the LIF. Cover only the plastic/metal housing of the LIF but not the slide lock or else you will not be able to secure the cable into the connector. Cover the kapton with foil tape to shield and ground it. You also do onto want to cause anything to short out on the foil tape that is being added.

The idea of taping the ribbon cable down to the existing small section of foil shielding is not a new idea but the exposed metal end caps of the LIF has not been mentioned. This is the main reason that most people have failed when performing the "tape down" method of the cable to the foil ground pad. My cable was actually secured well to the pad with adhesive. The only problem was that the shielding on the cable was not long enough and the ends of the LIF (low insertion force) connector where exposed.

I also placed some shielding on the under side of the entire cap touch board (LED board) and over the round mini sub woofer as well as wrapping the power and wifi harness to limit the EMI to the cap touch board (LED board). This can be done by placing foil tape over the channel that the wire harnesses reside in. I am not sure how much the shielding over the harness really had because usually that kind of problem causes a lack of response and not auto actuation. The foil tape shielding that I placed on the under side of the LED board did help to provide a nice path to ground for any residual static charge so I would be sure to include that step but you can likely omit the harness wrap.

After taking X-rays of the LED board I could see that the design and fab was actually very good so that left the static issue. performing the above will resolve the problem as long as you do not have some other underlying issue such as a defective LED board or power supply. After finding the cause I can almost for certain conclude that the Blu-Ray drive is not part of the problem.

On another note, I found a lot of loose screws and adding in the thin layers of foil tape made the entire keyboard and LED button panel feel much more robust and rigid. Almost as if it was designed correctly. Unfortunately the loose screws did not end up being the cause of the problem nor did the flexing of the LED board. This is ruled out due to the fact that I could trigger a false actuation without coming in direct contact with the panel. Just getting close enough to it with the tip of my finger would cause it to go nuts, all with no actual load being applied to the assembly.

That is all I can include for tonight but I will post some more info later. I did not take any pictures since I had planned on taking it apart again not expecting to fix it on the first try.

I am looking into trying to design & manufacture a kit that would come with die cut shielding gaskets or at least put out the info for anyone that wants to get the capacitive touch buttons working once and for all. It is not very hard to apply the foil tape but it is not fool proof since everyone may interpret and apply the fix differently. The goal is to put out a kit as well as the needed information that would allow a repeatable retrofit.

The panels are a little scary to take off since you feel like they are going to break but they do come off with a little patience.

Let me know what everyone thinks.

Thanks,

Brian

[bri_spree]

I got my HP HDX in 2009, like the rest of these good folks. I've had the volume control pop up issue for that long. The computer just does it when it wants to. It's an expensive $1000 piece of crap and I'll be getting a Mac Book Pro this coming December. Thanks for nothing HP. I'll take my business and my 1000s of dollars elsewhere where I won't want to THROW my computer across the room cuz I can't write a friggin paper for school.