Seanbon008 wrote:What program are you guys using for Blu Ray?

The included HP MediaSmart DVD program works fine for Blu-ray discs. I tested it with THE DARK KNIGHT, and it was quite nice.

joshualder wrote:The included HP MediaSmart DVD program works fine for Blu-ray discs. I tested it with THE DARK KNIGHT, and it was quite nice.

I probably shouldn't have deleted MediaSmart... Other webpages said it was bloatware. Ooops.

I have to say that Arch Linux is MUCH faster than W7 :D

Just opened the box yesterday, booted up and prompted for an HP update and a Windows 7 update. System rebooted after the updates were installed and now the PC won't get past the AMD RAID ROM boot sequence...can't find the hard drive.

I upgraded this desktop with this PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022
So far working great, it is a tight squeeze but it fits.
I also added a 7200 rpm hard drive and an 8800GT nvidia card.
I also formated the computer and reintalled Windows 7 with a non-HP disk to get rid of the bloatware they include.
Starcraft II runs well on this rig. So far, very happy.
Woot you rock! Thank you for saving me after my $1400 Dell desktop broke down after only 3 years. (Hopefully, this one will last longer)

My computer just arrived today (in Southeast Asia) and I keep staring at the box - can't wait to get it home and plug it in!!

Seanbon008 wrote:I installed both a new video card and larger power supply in this guy just two days ago, and it's running like a champ. I installed this combo from Newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.492782

I had to install the video card drivers from the included CD, then visit their website to get an updated driver. After reboot, everything looked perfect.

I installed the same combo as you did and I cannot get past the intial boot screen. Its saying it "did not find disk and can not create initialization because volume from the backup cdrom is not able to be utilized" or something to that effect. I opened the case after not being able to completely boot windows 7 to make sure that all connections were copastetic. They seem to be all attached. Am I missing something? The computer is not reading that there is any drive enabled, just the bluray drive. Could you assist me with a walkthrough of what you did? I would surely appreciate your thorough input. Thanks!

Aggravated in Albany,

neoche wrote:I installed the same combo as you did and I cannot get past the intial boot screen. Its saying it "did not find disk and can not create initialization because volume from the backup cdrom is not able to be utilized" or something to that effect. I opened the case after not being able to completely boot windows 7 to make sure that all connections were copastetic. They seem to be all attached. Am I missing something? The computer is not reading that there is any drive enabled, just the bluray drive. Could you assist me with a walkthrough of what you did? I would surely appreciate your thorough input. Thanks!

Aggravated in Albany,

This is a little more than you asked for, but everything worked when I did it this way.

1. I uninstalled Bloatware (just do a google search to find out what's not needed).

2. Defragged Computer. Turned off power and disconnected all cords from back of tower.

3. Opened up case (before touching anything inside, cancel any static charge by touching exposed tower metal).

4. Unscrewed old power supply from case, then detached all cables running from it to motherboard, accessories, etc.

5. Removed old graphics card (had to unscrew plate on back of tower holding the graphics card in).

6. Removed metal pci slot from tower to have new graphics card fit. Then inserted new graphics card.

7. Re-connected cords from new power supply to motherboard, accessories, etc. NOTE: Use the cord that was included with the new graphics card to obtain power from the new Power Supply (I don't think the old power supply required a direct hook-up like the new one). Also made sure no power cords block the graphics card's fan.

8. Carefully inserted power supply, then screwed it to tower.

9. Re-asserted all accounted wires were connected, power supply properly anchored, graphics card properly seated.

10. Closed tower, reconnected all tower cords, flipped switch on power supply to "On."

11. Turned on computer. The picture was a little messed up when computer finished loading (i.e. zoom view).

12. Put graphics card cd in drive, loaded drivers.

13. Went onto internet and google'd Gigabyte HD 5770 to find their actual website. Went there, entered info on my graphics card, and found available drivers.

14. Installed new drivers, then rebooted computer.

15. Everything was perfect upon reboot, so I basked in my awesomeness for accomplishing this (first time install for me).

Here's a link to the page with the graphics card driver:

http://gigabyte.com/search/search.aspx?kw=GV-R577SO-1GD

Bought this psu because I found it on sale. (46 bucks) Plan to upgrade it this week.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371016&cm_re=antec_550w_power_supply-_-17-371-016-_-Product

I am grateful for your reply!! This is my first install as well. Thanks again for the walkthrough.

Seanbon008 wrote:This is a little more than you asked for, but everything worked when I did it this way.

1. I uninstalled Bloatware (just do a google search to find out what's not needed).

2. Defragged Computer. Turned off power and disconnected all cords from back of tower.

3. Opened up case (before touching anything inside, cancel any static charge by touching exposed tower metal).

4. Unscrewed old power supply from case, then detached all cables running from it to motherboard, accessories, etc.

5. Removed old graphics card (had to unscrew plate on back of tower holding the graphics card in).

6. Removed metal pci slot from tower to have new graphics card fit. Then inserted new graphics card.

7. Re-connected cords from new power supply to motherboard, accessories, etc. NOTE: Use the cord that was included with the new graphics card to obtain power from the new Power Supply (I don't think the old power supply required a direct hook-up like the new one). Also made sure no power cords block the graphics card's fan.

8. Carefully inserted power supply, then screwed it to tower.

9. Re-asserted all accounted wires were connected, power supply properly anchored, graphics card properly seated.

10. Closed tower, reconnected all tower cords, flipped switch on power supply to "On."

11. Turned on computer. The picture was a little messed up when computer finished loading (i.e. zoom view).

12. Put graphics card cd in drive, loaded drivers.

13. Went onto internet and google'd Gigabyte HD 5770 to find their actual website. Went there, entered info on my graphics card, and found available drivers.

14. Installed new drivers, then rebooted computer.

15. Everything was perfect upon reboot, so I basked in my awesomeness for accomplishing this (first time install for me).

A fresh install of Windows 7 64 bit in a VIRTUAL MACHINE has less lag than the original installation and by less I mean none. Just shows you how much BS is in these bloatware installations.

Jylissia wrote:you could not build one this nice this inexpensive

Yes you can, check out Newegg.

joshualder wrote:The included HP MediaSmart DVD program works fine for Blu-ray discs. I tested it with THE DARK KNIGHT, and it was quite nice.

Whenever I try to play a blu ray it just prompts me "Would you like to check for updates?" I click yes, then the same prompt appears 1 minute later. Any ideas?

chevyvball wrote:Yes, it does. It also comes with "Bloatware" pre-installed. Bloatware is Trial programs & stuff that the manufacturer intends as helpful utilities, but really just duplicate functions already built into the PC, so it all just eats up system resources. Their Bloatware is also in the Recovery partition & will be in the Recovery discs (3 DVDs) that you create.
To get a system w/o Bloatware, we reformat the HDD & install from a Retail copy of the OS (1 DVD). Just removing Bloatware from a system will still leave leftover Registry entries & Program files behind (even PC Decrapifier), which can be troublesome.
For those of you w/o a retail copy of Windows 7, I recommend using Revo Uninstaller to remove unwanted programs. Just use the "complete" setting & it will delete leftover Registry entries & Program files for you. Then run CCleaner to clean up your system, & finally, Smart Defrag, for optimization.
These are tools I use everyday & I'm an A+ Certified Technician. Happy Computing!

What do you do about the drivers if you do a clean install with a retail copy of Win7?

7-3-11

Hard drive failure today

Getting a new Barricuda 2tb put in...Jatravartid sucky refurb WD hard drive began freezing up with tons of RAIDXpert errors. Total failure over two days.

Blu Ray Optical Drive failed after 18 months of use. Started acting balky after 15 months and then refused to load any media after 18 months. Fortunately I purchased a 24 month Squaretrade insurance policy. I'll keep you posted on how Squaretrade responds.