Windows 7 on a tx2500z

After loving the performance on a u810 I decided to wipe out my tx2500z and put in windows 7. I tried to use acronis true image to create a backup on the u810 and than use universal restore on the tx2500z... That didn't work out and I reinstalled it manually.

Everything installed fine but it was a bit unstable even running all the windows update. Make sure to install the optional updates which has a lot of drivers. The problems at that point was freezing, crashing, and general instability. Typically at this point I set advance options to best performance (except for thumbnails). Disable windows defender, windows search, turned of disk defragment schedule, unclick indexed c drive, ip helper service, in display I turned off automatic background to one and everything is working much better. After calibrated I notice there was one device undetected and after installing the hp buttons, I installed ENE CIR Receiver(the remote) which resolved that device. Some other minor tweaks but after activating it seems to be functioning with some quirks. The major one seems I can't go to system properties->performance options->click change(virtual memory) causing both system properties and performance options screen to not responding.

It seems my problems are with a bad cluster/sector on my hard drive... After a few hours scanning and automatically repairing my hard drive which took over an hour everything is working better but I did install the hp graphics driver which is older than what is installed by windows 7 for good measure.

Update: I reverted windows 7 because I still have odd quirks of tray icons not loading and programs still suddenly not responding. The main problem actually was truecrypt is not compatible yet and because the tx2500z can handle speeds just fine in vista. I did test acronis true image can make a perfect backup of windows 7 (just not universal restore).

Hewlett Packard tx2500z Tablet Notebook

I received my HP tablet model tx2500z today. Was shipped from Shanghai China on December 31st, 2008. Originally estimated to arrivate on January 7, 2009 but it seems from the fedex shipment details that customs released it within 1/2 hour (in alaska) than to NJ and finally to NY. I like it so far. I usually would remove the default install due to the junk software installed that would slow my computer down. However xp tablet handwriting recognition is quite bad and vista is superior by quite a bit. I did install Norton first (that took an unusual amount of time) and a 178mb windows update. The Hewelett Packard Games pack and did some minor windows customizations to fit my needs. I can never understand why vista made some tasks confusing and outright annoying. For example it does not allow you to show all the network connections (wireless/ethernet) even if disconnected; making you go a few extra steps to setup and check status.

Here's a picture of the 4 computers I purchased in the last month as a size comparison. The hp tx2500z, 2 fujitsu u810, and an asus 1000h.



Here's a simple pros and cons which maybe useful instead of a bloated review:

Pros:
1) Can find great deals on this tablet with hp promotions. If you manage to get it below 700 than you should definately get it because it would be the cheapest tablet available in today's market.
2) Includes a cleaning cloth.
3) Includes a wireless remote to watch dvd.
4) Includes a dvd/cd holder for a lighter weight (OMG. coming from someone who bought quite a few laptops with nothing like this included which could cost what? an additional dollar of plastic; HP gets major bonus points)
5) Has a SD-MS/Pro-MMC-xd multimedia slot (OMG. this is perfect because my fujitsu uses xd)
6) Good speakers, Webcam

Cons:
1) Screen does appear a little fuzzy as if a screen was added to the display causing a frosted appearance. Most noticable in white background.
2) Fan is pretty noisey.
3) It can get pretty HOT.
4) Microphone doesn't seem to be very good (but comparable to almost every laptop)
5) For a 12 inch the battery makes it close to a 14 inch so it is not much smaller.
6) My monitor is labeled tx2000 along with what's written beneath the laptop. Minor annoyance.

Final Thoughts:
I can see this as my primary machine with vista installed. I may have to give vista sp1 a try on the u810 however it lags quite a bit using the tablet in xp. I do not see it getting better in vista. I did not opt for bluetooth and fingerprint because it was a bit too big and heavy to find those addons useful(even more so after receiving it). I also had some spare bluetooth adapters and find the fingerprint software on the u810 a bit obtrusive for anything other than quick login. Either way I'm really happy I got to upgrade my primary laptop. I should be carrying a u810 and a tx2500z every where I go now.