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HP Pavilion dv7 Laptop - need driver to resetup

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dan330

Extreme Android User
I just purchased a used: HP Pavilion dv7-6b78us for someone on craigslist. He wiped the Laptop clean.

it originally came with Windows 7. He upgraded via online purchase to Windows 8 Pro. when he wiped the Harddrive and only loaded the Windows 8 pro.. he did not know to get all the drivers for all the hardware on the laptop. So a lot of issues with the laptop.

from visiting the HP website support.. I got most of the hardware working.
I have 4 remaining issues..

1. HP TrueVisioin HD: builtin webcam
I was able to find the software for it, but not the drivers. The funny thing is, the "Device Manager" does not even see a webcam or missing hardware. installed the software and it can not find a webcam, it says that I need to turn it "on".
Does anyone have these drivers? or what I need to turn it "on"?

2. Video card.. there are 2 listed:
Intel HD Graphics 3000
Radeon HD 6490M
While I was trying to figure out which is the correct driver for the installed hardware.. the drivers changed models a few times.. and even showed memory.
anyone know what is the correct driver for this system?

3. Windows 8 Pro
it is installed and activated. I only see a partial of the "product key". How do I obtain the full key.. just in case I have to reload the OS again in the future.

4. Keyboard back light..
the touchpad has a lighted border (white).. I would think all the new laptops have the keyboard lighted as well. but it is not.
Does this Keyboard have back light? if so, how do I turn it on?


any help would be great.
thanks guys.
 
dan330 said:
3. Windows 8 Pro
it is installed and activated. I only see a partial of the "product key". How do I obtain the full key.. just in case I have to reload the OS again in the future.
Click to expand...

AFAIK Win 8 only shows a partial key once its activated. To get the full license key you'd have to contact the person who sold the laptop to you. They should have some form of documentation with the full license key, to re-activate Win if needed. Alternatively you might be able to go back to Win 7 and activate that, provided the laptop still has a valid Win 7 license sticker. Failing that you'd have to buy a new Windows license to activate it.

As for the rest of the drivers and things, you've downloaded and installed everything that HP does that's specific to this laptop? If you look in the device manager, what exactly are you seeing? Question marks on unknown devices? Webcams shouldn't normally need drivers, Windows should support them straight away.
 
mikedt said:
AFAIK Win 8 only shows a partial key once its activated. To get the full license key you'd have to contact the person who sold the laptop to you. They should have some form of documentation with the full license key, to re-activate Win if needed. Alternatively you might be able to go back to Win 7 and activate that, provided the laptop still has a valid Win 7 license sticker. Failing that you'd have to buy a new Windows license to activate it.

As for the rest of the drivers and things, you've downloaded and installed everything that HP does that's specific to this laptop? If you look in the device manager, what exactly are you seeing? Question marks on unknown devices? Webcams shouldn't normally need drivers, Windows should support them straight away.
Click to expand...

thanks for the response:

yeah.. I have texted the seller to get the ..product key. he has not responded. I hope he will.

The windows 7 sticker is on the bottom of the laptop.

all the unknown devices have been fixed. and no issues remain.

in the "control panel".. I can not find any listing of a webcam.. to setup or test.
 
When I saw the name of this thread I assumed I could help you! The laptop I use all the time is an HP dv7t that I bought new toward the end of 2011. But I can't help. :eek: You see, as soon as mine arrived I wiped all traces of micro$oft off its drive, as I do with all computers I buy, and installed Linux. Everything works great, and I didn't have to do a thing. No searching for drivers, no fiddling with anything, it just worked.
 
MoodyBlues said:
When I saw the name of this thread I assumed I could help you! The laptop I use all the time is an HP dv7t that I bought new toward the end of 2011. But I can't help. :eek: You see, as soon as mine arrived I wiped all traces of micro$oft off its drive, as I do with all computers I buy, and installed Linux. Everything works great, and I didn't have to do a thing. No searching for drivers, no fiddling with anything, it just worked.
Click to expand...


someday.. I might join you in the Linux world.

if I ever do have to wipe this laptop..and can get the needed PRODUCT KEY.. I might try Linux.

thanks :)
 
They are legal to download, activation with a legit key is a different story however.
 
In which case it's a non issue, he can download and activate and all is legit.

But not everyone has a legit key.
 
dan330 said:
someday.. I might join you in the Linux world.

if I ever do have to wipe this laptop..and can get the needed PRODUCT KEY.. I might try Linux.
Click to expand...
dan, have you thought about trying Linux on this laptop? I prefer, and almost exclusively use, Kubuntu as my Linux distro, and that's what I installed on my dv7. But I also tried Fedora and a couple of others, just for the hell of it, before deciding to stick with my usual Kubuntu.

You can burn a disc and then live boot from it; you risk nothing, as it doesn't affect your hard drive in any way. You can poke around, verify that things work, and then if you like it you can hit 'install' and you're on your way. Or you can dual-boot with window$ if you want. (If you need help with that, someone else will have to chime in, as I don't allow window$ on any of my computers.)

Just a thought. Like I said, EVERYTHING on my dv7 worked perfectly after simply installing Kubuntu on it. I needed to do nothing extra to make anything work, so your experience should mirror mine.
 
davoid said:
If you've got the Win 7 product key on the machine I would download win 7 and use that.

This forum has links to apparently LEGAL downloads of Win 7 ISOs stored on Digital River servers.

Legal Download from DigitalRiver: Windows 7 SP1, 13 languages
Click to expand...


yeah.. but according to the seller.. he has purchased the windows 8 pro.. and has loaded it on this laptop. So I would like to get the product key for it.

if I can not get it.. then one fall back option is to use the windows 7.

sinces Win 8Pro is on this laptop.. I would like to use that.

MoodyBlues said:
dan, have you thought about trying Linux on this laptop? I prefer, and almost exclusively use, Kubuntu as my Linux distro, and that's what I installed on my dv7. But I also tried Fedora and a couple of others, just for the hell of it, before deciding to stick with my usual Kubuntu.

You can burn a disc and then live boot from it; you risk nothing, as it doesn't affect your hard drive in any way. You can poke around, verify that things work, and then if you like it you can hit 'install' and you're on your way. Or you can dual-boot with window$ if you want. (If you need help with that, someone else will have to chime in, as I don't allow window$ on any of my computers.)

Just a thought. Like I said, EVERYTHING on my dv7 worked perfectly after simply installing Kubuntu on it. I needed to do nothing extra to make anything work, so your experience should mirror mine.
Click to expand...

really.. I can run Kubunu/Linux on a DVD drive? cool.
I might have to try that out.

Silly question.. because I am not familiar with Linux..
will the "Microsoft Office 2010 32bit home edition" run on Linux??
I am guessing that I will have to repurchase that.. what software would I get to work on "MS word" documents??
 
Office won't work on linux unless possibly in WINE?

As Xplosiv says, openoffice will work with word docs. Besides, I think these days most linux distros come with libre office which will work with word docs. :smokingsomb:
 
dan330 said:
really.. I can run Kubunu/Linux on a DVD drive? cool.
Click to expand...
Yes, absolutely. It's a great way to test hardware for compatibility without committing to anything, since no changes whatsoever are made to your hard drive. It's also a great way to try out different Linux distros until you find that special one that speaks to you. Also, when window$ crashes...as it so often does!...a Linux disc can be used to recover files from the hard drive.

I might have to try that out.
Click to expand...
You literally have nothing to lose. :)

Silly question.. because I am not familiar with Linux..
will the "Microsoft Office 2010 32bit home edition" run on Linux??
I am guessing that I will have to repurchase that.. what software would I get to work on "MS word" documents??
Click to expand...
As others have already noted, it's possible that M$ Office will run on Linux via wine, but the point of Linux is not to force software intended for a different [and inferior] operating system to run on it, but rather to use native software created specifically for it. OpenOffice.org used to be the standard office suite on Linux distros, but that's recently shifted to LibreOffice.org, which is what I'm now using. And, yes, it will open M$ word docs. (My brain isn't awake enough right now to recall exactly, but somehow OpenOffice and LibreOffice are related.)

Another thing, too--if [when? :D] you switch to Linux, you're going to have to get rid of your ingrained thinking about paying...and paying...and paying through the nose for every OS upgrade, every software upgrade, every program you want, etc. Why? Because they're almost all FREE!

You'll also want to disregard ignorant remarks--from people who don't know any better--that it's impossible to do EVERYTHING on Linux. Just keep in mind that with its UNIX heritage, Linux is, and has been, leaps and bounds faster, more powerful, more versatile, more secure, and more stable than any M$ product will ever hope to be. The ignorant remarks generally involve things like "only command-line geeks can use Linux!" Um, no. Actually, back in the early '90s, that was true, but hasn't been for MANY years now. The GUIs available for Linux are breathtakingly beautiful--and, as usual, more advanced than anything M$ has copied [yet]. I do EVERYTHING on Linux, from running my web sites to playing games to creating graphics for my products to dumping photos from my Nikons and editing them. There are no M$ products in my life. Period! :)
 
As to what I can see is that the OS and the MS Office were bundled with the Laptop... I suggest that you still use those cause you paid for them first hand... then do a dual-boot set-up with another OS such as Linux if you want added security with you files.

Just a suggestion... hope it helps ^_^
 
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