Problem with Compaq Presario C702TU drivers

“Lately I have had the strangest feeling…”

That was what i felt during that time. I had drafted this then.. and have made several revisions, But I told myself that i’ll only post this after I have tried every possible solution.

I’ve had this problem since the day I got hold of my Compaq Presario C702. I bought it without a Free OS installed (FreeDOS). It didn’t come with any drivers (driver installers).

I don’t have the right video driver plus i don’t have a sound driver.. The seller didn’t offer me to buy any drivers.

In the search for the light at the end of the tunnel… I did the following….

I’ve searched the entire world wide web for the correct and working drivers…

I’ve downloaded more than a dozen drivers and none of them worked.

I’ve followed every installation procedures and did it all over again..

I’ve joined every forum that discusses about drivers.

I’ve asked help from 3 HP customer service representatives, at first i thought they were very helpful.. but every CSR i talk to gave me different download links to different files.

Why oh why doesn’t this model have its own drivers online? Isn’t it that the product series should have compatible and working drivers?

I’ve asked help from 4 IT Technical personnel. Some of my previous problems were solved.. while some were left hanging.

My previous problem was with the installation of the OS. During set-up, it returned an error saying that the hard drive can’t be found. The IT guys figured it out. It was just a misunderstanding between the hardware installed and the set-up in the BIOS.

So you see.. i did all these.. AND NONE OF THEM WORKED.

My eyes were hurting back then becasue i can’t adjust the screen resolution (brightness, contrast, etc.). I was wondering, can i bill or sue HP or the supplier if ever my eyes gets damaged?

The laptop is equipped with altec lansing speakers. Its one of the best out there… But its just useless if you don’t have the drivers to run it.

I told myself to calm down.

I was thinking, If this still fails… I’ll return the unit – get my money back or have it replaced by the same unit or a non branded laptop.

I thought that this unit was an outdated model and that HP doesn’t have the proper support for it. Or that maybe this is what i get for buying a low priced product? (hmmm 27k is not a small amount… but compared to those priced of more than 80k). Or maybe the authorized seller did something to this unit. I don’t know.

2days ago, I brought it to an authorized HP service center. There are 2 authorized service centers in Davao City. I went to Digital Interface. I called them first, talked to the tech engineer and briefed him about my problem. He told me to bring it there.

So that’s what I did. I gave him the unit and he told me to return after an hour. Indeed, after an hour, the unit was ready and everything was OK. I checked the unit.. adjusted the videos and checked the sound.

Unfortunately they charged me P500.00 for 2 drivers. They said its the minimum fee. I said i thought it was covered by the warranty, they said it wasn’t. I paid, said thanks and left with a smile on my face.

So now, I’m really enjoying my new gadget. The altec lansing speakers are loud (yes 6233 user, louder than our phones). Quality of the sound, well, if you put the volume to full, then for sure you will hear some annoying sound. So just adjust the volume to the right levels.

So far so good.

I’ll upload the drivers so that presario C702TU which the tech guy left on my unit. He said i’ll use it if ever i reformat my laptop. Now, users would not have to go through the same stressfulllllllll procedures that i’ve experienced.

Audio
Video
Modem

(We are experiencing some problems with our internet connection so just check this blog from time to time and see if it has been uploaded)

(UPDATE: 7/22/07)

Someone form the Regional Customer Contact Centre of HP responded just now. 7 Days after I sent them an SOS thru their HP website.

Good thing I sent two requests for help. The first one answered after an hour. Tried to help but nothing changed. But still.. thanks for customer contact center agents…

(Update: 12/10/07)

With my current drivers, i couldn’t use the headphones. So before bringing it to an authorized HP Service center again, i tried downloading all Conexant Drivers which i think can be used for the laptop with a Windows XP OS.

Majority of those that i downloaded didn’t work.. but some did.. and the LATEST one that worked is Soft Paq 34200 (SP34200.exe) -Conexant High Definition Audio Driver HP Pavilion.

what I did is this:

1. Download it from Here. (i’m still uploading the file.. but try downloading it elsewhere)

2. Unpack/run the exe file that you downloaded.

> it will unpack some files..It will create a folder with the name SP34200. remember where you unpacked it.

3. Go to Device manager

> Right click on My Computer
> Click Properties
> Click Hardware
> Click device management

4.  Go to Sound Video and Game Controllers

 > Right click in your current sound driver – mine is conexant high definition audio
> Click update Driver

5. Another dialog box will appear, Choose Not this Time

> click Next >
> Click Install from a list or specific location > next
> Click Don’t search, I will choose a driver….. > next

6. Choose Have disk

> Then go to the folder SP34200
> Then choose the filename with the file extension that its looking for (.inf or .chd)
> Click next and just follow the instructions – you’ll just click yes/ok anyways..

After this.. wait for about 30 seconds then try playing a sound file. If you see an error message , just ignore it and wait some more… but after 1 minute and yo still get an error, then there must be something wrong with your set-up/installation. Re-do it.

Now i can use my headphones.. thought it seems that the sound coming out of my laptop is not that loud.. but its ok..

I’m happier now.

I just wish HP have this kind of troubleshooting.

Oh, yes HP, you can copy this to help your customers.. Just make sure you link to me or mention the source – me.