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Archive for September, 2010

Installing Windows 7 on HP Tablet TC1100

September 24, 2010 47 comments

I love gadgets; I especially love gadgets that help me be more organized which in turn helps me be more productive.

The HP Tablet TC1100 originally came out in 2003 and at that time the operating system was Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, which added the Tablet and Ink capabilities. Since then Microsoft has made tremendous improvements to the ink and hand writing capabilities in Vista and now in Windows 7. HP however does not have compatible drivers for Windows 7. Why you say? Good question, I can’t think of a good reason for this. Thankfully a kind soul took it upon himself to tinker with it and get it working. The below link documents his labors to get Windows 7 installed on the Tablet. Why would you want to do this? Well, Windows 7 totally rocks on the HP Tablet and is totally worth upgrading. The main reason is the performance, the ink features, and handwriting recognition. Awesome stuff.

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WIKIPEDIA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_Compaq_TC1100

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REQUIRED READING TO GET THINGS WORKING

Read the following article from MobilePCWiki to get an overview of the installation of Windows 7 on the Tablet. The author goes through and explains in great detail the process. The installation notes cover the RC version of Windows 7, but I have gotten to work with the Windows 7 RTM Home Premium and Ultimate.

http://mobilepcwiki.com/mpc/index.php?title=HP/TC1100/Windows_7_Installation_Notes

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INSTALL USING USB

Since the Tablets do not come with a DVD drive you will need to either attach an external DVD or create a Windows 7 Installation USB Stick. The following website IntoWindows link walks you through creating a USB installation stick.

http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-install-windows-7vista-from-usb-drive-detailed-100-working-guide

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BOOT HP TABLET TC1100 TO USB

The following will allow you to boot from the USB stick. By default you will not be able to boot from the USB Stick.

Put the USB Stick in the USB Slot on the computer.

Start up the Tablet and hit the jog dial and Launch System Setup.

Scroll over to the Advanced Tab

Scroll down to Boot Order and hit Enter

Select Hard Drive and hit Enter

Hit the -/+ to move up the USB drive to the top of the list.

Hit F10 to Save and Exit.

System should automatically boot to the USB drive.

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HOW TO TAKE APART COMPUTER TO GET AT INTERNAL MEMORY

The TC1100 has two memory slots and by default comes with 512MB of Ram. This is really not enough ram to run Windows 7 on. You can easily upgrade the memory to 1.5gb by adding a 1gb chip to the external slot (User Accessible Area). To upgrade the machine to 2gb, which I highly recommend you will need to take apart the Tablet to get at the slot. I have done this 3 times without issue, just take your time and review the great photos from the below forum discussion on the subject.

http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/showthread.php?34009-wicked-cool-tc1100-upgrade-hard-drive-and-RAM

Type of RAM to buy

(2) 1GB PC2700 SODIMM DDR-333 (200 Pin)

Newegg.com has this for $40.99/each [Confirmed 9/22/2010]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145068

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INSTALLATION NOTES

There are no specific Vista or Windows 7 drivers for the HP TC1100 Tablet. You must use the old XP Tablet PC drivers. The trick is to install the drivers in XP Compatibility mode. You do this by right clicking the file, select properties, then click on the Compatibility tab. Under the Compatibility mode put a check under “Run this program in compatibility mode for” and select Windows XP SP2. Click Apply and then Ok. Double click or right click and select Run as Administrator.

DRIVERS

SP29116 – Texas Instruments 4in1 Card [2004-10]

SP27014 – NVIDIA Video Driver [2004-01]

SP28787 – Q Menu for Tablet [2004-10]

SP24241 – Tablet PC Button Driver [2003-11]

HP’s Website

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareIndex.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodNameId=376812&prodTypeId=321957&prodSeriesId=376810&swLang=8&taskId=135&swEnvOID=1059

NOTE

If you have the HP Compaq W500 Compatible 802.11/a/b/g [Part #: 349985-001], you can install the following HP Driver after the OS has been installed.

SP32579 – HP WLAN W400-W500 Driver for Windows [2006-05]

If you have the HP Compaq Laptop Wireless 2100 802.11b Mini-PCI Card [Part #: 348997-001], you will have to manually connect computer to NETWORK with Ethernet and run Windows Update to get the Wireless working.

To determine which one you have you will need to unscrew one of the back covers and look at the HP Part Number.

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ADDITIONAL DRIVERS

Installed NVIDIA Fix 82.12 [XP Compatibility Mode]

http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/showpost.php?p=316329&postcount=48

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ADDITIONAL DRIVERS

Installed Wacom Penabled Driver v5.08-2a [XP Compatibility Mode]

http://www.wacom.com/downloads/drivers.php

The newer driver doesn’t seem to work. You will need to find the driver on the web. Do a google search for PenTablet_508-2a.exe

I found it on UserDrivers.com.

http://www.userdrivers.com/Keyboard-Mouse/Wacom-Penabled-Driver-5-08-2a-RC-for-Tablet-PCs/download/

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Confirmed available: 9/22/2010

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GOTCHA’S

Windows Aero

Supports only 1GB Secure Digital

Single Core Processor