Thursday, December 22, 2011

My new HP 430 Notebook

This week I bought a new HP 430 Notebook from Flipkart and am extremely satisfied with it. The Flipkart service was really awesome, would recommend to try it.


The Netbook was naked (without any OS), so I saved a couple of bucks on some proprietary OS. As soon as I got it, I installed Ubuntu 11.10 with all the updates. Since, I use apt-cacher-ng and maintain the list of software I use, setting up the machine was a breeze. A single `sudo apt-get install ........` installed all the required software.

Also, installed Java, Hadoop, Eclipse and the required software to try, learn and explore Hadoop. The Netbook has an i5 processor and supports Intel-VT, which had to be enabled in the BIOS. Also, installed Ubuntu 11.10 as guest using VirtualBox and tried a Hadoop cluster of 2 nodes (host and guest) with 0.22 release.

The regret I have is that I am able to suspend the Notebook in Ubuntu 11.10, but not able to resume it back. So, I have to hibernate it or shut it down. And though the Netbook has 4GB RAM, the graphics card doesn't have separate memory and is consuming it from the 4GB RAM.

Edit (24th January, 2012) - Noticed that the Notebook had a few bright spots and had to get it replaced. Although Flipkart had a 30 day replacement guarantee free of cost, the customer support got me in touch with the HP service center to get the Netbook monitor replaced instead of a full Notebook replacement, which was not what I  wanted. Had to literally call Flipkart 15-20 times, send pictures of the Notebook monitor multiple times and finally had to escalate it to their supervisor before they agreed for a replacement of the Notebook.

Flipkart which is being called Amazon for India has a customer support which was behaving a lot cranky for the replacement of the laptop in spite of the damage. Flipkart is offereing competetive price with a COD (Cash On Delivery) and a 3 month EMI, so would be definitely recomendig to use the Flipkart service with care.

Edit (1st August, 2012) - Noticed that sometimes (very rare) the caps lock doesn't work and the network also doesn't work. Had to remove the battery from the laptop and put it back. Reboot doesn't work in both the cases. Looks like some state is stored in the laptop even when turned off, which gets reset when the battery is removed and put back.

10 comments:

  1. Hi Sripathi..
    I have Also Bought the HP430..i want to install the Ubuntu 11.10..Pls Could you explain how to proceed about installation on DOs Machine..

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  2. Till data I have installed Ubuntu on a couple of machines and there was nothing specific for HP 430, except that the function keys were behaving odd and the suspend is not working. Here are detailed instructions for various combinations - https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation

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  3. Hi, which ubuntu version is support for this 32bit or 64bit ?

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    Replies
    1. The i5 is a 64-bit processor, so both 32 and 64-bit Ubuntu should be supported. I haven't used 64-bit Ubuntu, but read that some of the applications might not work or be slower on 64-bit Ubuntu.

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  4. hey did you try installing windows on it??
    I am un able to use the fn keys on windows!
    also even after instaling all the drivers i am unable to turn on wifi or make the ethernet adapter work!

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    Replies
    1. I haven't installed Windows on it. BTW, the function keys have been reversed. Press a combination of the 'Fn + F1' to get the functionality of F1. This is the default behavior and can be changed from the BIOS to avoid pressing Fn key every time.

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  5. hey my touchpad lock button is not working,,and i can't chnge my screen brightness using function key..i'm using windows xp..Plzzz help..

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    Replies
    1. Check the bios settings, the function keys have been reversed. You need to press `Fn + Fx` to get the function. You can change it in the Bios. Regarding the touchpad I am not sure, never had the problem.

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  6. But how and where to change in BIOS. I am not getting it. Can you please guide me through the process. Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. Kamal - during boot enter escape key to get to the bios setup - then navigate to `system configuration -> action keys mode`

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