Playing with the HP Stream mini

[BarkingGhostar]

Received my order yesterday and finally got around to unpacking it and turning the thing on. God I hate the Metro UI. :biggrin: Fixed that by installing Classic Shell.

Next, I uninstalled all of the bloatware (Dropbox, McAfee, Office 365 and some of the HP s/w), installed FF, removed the pagefile and running first Windows Updates.

The stream mini comes with a god awful wired KBM, which I will replace with an inexpensive (<$40) wireless set. Did I say Classic Shell makes me smile ... especially after the Metro UI incident?

I now need to order an m.2 to SATA adapter (Amazon), larger m.2 SSD (Amazon) and begin installing some better s/w. I'll be testing this with a variety of OS (Windows 7, 10, LM, OpenElec, etc.).

I'm liking the small physical footprint of the unit.

 

[midwestfisherman]

Look forward to your review.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Here is one side of the board layout with the SSD/HDD tray removed:

Here is the installed 1x2GB memory module. Need to figure out the pin count for upgrading:

The Broadcom Wifi & Bluetooth card plugged into the second m.2 port:

Closeup (and blurry) pic of the Sandisk SSD:

Picture of the two m.2 ports. Notice the strange pin layouts are different:

And lastly the chassis with the 2.5" SSD/HDD tray back in place with an actual SSD in mockup:

I'm not sure I can place an m.2 SSD in the m.2 port that the Broadcom card is in. I need to open up the mini again so I can see what is on the other side of the main board.

 

[Aikouka]

I'm not sure I can place an m.2 SSD in the m.2 port that the Broadcom card is in. I need to open up the mini again so I can see what is on the other side of the main board.

I stumbled across a good article that went into great detail on the keying for M.2 drives and what each key usually meant in regard to capabilities available, but I can't seem to find it. Although, I did find a few links that have some good information too...

https://www.ramcity.com.au/blog/m.2-ngff-ssd-compatibility-list/189

I also found this bit in a PDF:

What type of applications use key A?
TE’s M.2 key A connectors are found in applications that use wireless connectivity including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC,
and / or WiGig. Module card types used include 1630, 2230 and 3030.

What type of applications use key B?
TE’s M.2 key B connectors are found in applications that use WWAN+GNSS or Solid State Storage Devices (SSD).
Module card types used include 3042, 2230, 2242, 2260, 2280 and 22110.

What type of applications use key E?
TE’s M.2 key E connectors are found in applications that use wireless connectivity including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC of
GNSS. Module card types used include 1630, 2230 and 3030.

What type of applications use key M?
TE’s M.2 key M connectors are found in applications that use Host I/Fs that are supported by either PCIe with up to
four lanes or SATA, as well as Solid State Storage Devices (SSD). Module card types used include 2242, 2260, 2280
and 22110.

The important thing to note is that WiFi and SSDs don't normally share the same keys. Most M.2 SSDs that I see are B+M.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Thanks, Aikouka, I'll look over that information. I've managed to identify the OEM SSD and SODIMM products:

The 32GB SSD is a Sandisk 22[mm]x40[mm] m.2. Product page. I think I might try to swap this out for this MyDigital 128GB 2240 m.2 SSD for $50.

The 2GB of RAM is Micron 2GB 1600MHz 204-pin. Product page. I think I might swap it out for a Crucial 2x4GB kit for $63. Not sure though if there is real benefit in going from 2-->8GB with this Celeron or just adding a second 2GB module for a 2-->4GB solution for less than half the cost.

Aikouka, now that you have pointed out the differences in m.2 connectors I wonder just how use[ful/less] that port might be. I need to open up the chassis and see where might the Pavilion mini units are connecting their regular SATA HDD to the board.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

OK, the m.2 port that the OEM SSD is plugged into is a B+M key M.2 port. This means it has keys (notches) for B and M, and the Wiki page illustrates all of this. However, the other m.2 port was not found on that Wiki page.

I then came across this YouTube video and the gent managed to identify this port. It is an 'M.2 E", which can be seen in the above video at the 2'11" mark. I believe the "E" means Express.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

OK, that mystery M.2 port is this:

I then found this manufacture's description here. Then on page three of this PDF described the module nomenclature.

Unlike the M.2 B+M port the OEM SSD is plugged into, this port appears to only be for 2x PCIe (the M handles 4x).

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I ran across a 3 day old YouTube video by Andrew Tran who opened up an HP Pavilion mini to reveal how that unit connects the mechanical HDD. Here is a picture:

I then went and ventured out onto HP's PartSurfer website and digging through the HP Pavilion mini parts catalog I found the SATA cable part:

Unfortunately that part is not available for ordering. However, the place where the cable plugs into the main board is found on the HP Stream mini's main board, too.

 

[Dahak]

You could probably call any hp service provider if you really wanted to get it. or possibly the hp parts store

 

[BarkingGhostar]

You could probably call any hp service provider if you really wanted to get it. or possibly the hp parts store

I think that is the function of the PartSurfer HP website, to provide a means for HP service providers to get available parts. The SATA sable has a part number, but no check box on that page in which to add it to the shopping cart.

 

[JWade]

any luck installing win7 yet on it?

 

[TeknoBug]

Been looking for a mini PC so I don't have to leave my big PC on all the time and can stream games from Steam, been eying a Zotac with A8 5545M or even any with that Celeron N2930/2940 or heck even those Atom Z37* (although IGP kind of sucks).

 

[Aikouka]

So, that m.2 thing that I spent awhile looking for was actually tucked into a Broadwell NUC review on ArsTechnica, which they have since broken out into a full-fledged article. I don't know if there's necessarily anything new, but it could help.

 

[Dahak]

So, that m.2 thing that I spent awhile looking for was actually tucked into a Broadwell NUC review on ArsTechnica, which they have since broken out into a full-fledged article. I don't know if there's necessarily anything new, but it could help.

Beat me to it... I had just seen this too.

I think that is the function of the PartSurfer HP website, to provide a means for HP service providers to get available parts. The SATA sable has a part number, but no check box on that page in which to add it to the shopping cart.

I used to work for an hp services provider there is a few different levels,
1 - partsurfer which will show and list all the parts for that specific machine,
2 - partstore which will allow someone to order a part. May be limited to what hp will allow to sell, sometimes a link from the partsurfer will go to the partstore

and then for the service providers themselves they have
3 - hp channel services network, which in internal only to the provides, but usually uses for warranty repairs, but can sometimes offer parts for sale too, although sometimes at an ungodly price

 

[Shivansps]

Nice, the 2 memory slots is not an small detail.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

OK, so first I tried creating a Windows 7 Pro boot thumb drive to see if I could get that to boot. No dice, even though the BIOS seemed to imply otherwise. I created this using the M$ DVD2USB tool and an ISO created using M$' method. Got nowhere.

I then received a SATA to USB cable, which I connected up my backup W7Pro to see if I could get it recognized as a USB HDD, which it did, but then after the initial splash screen it BSOD and rebooted, repeated, until I gave up. When I went back and selected the m.2 SSD as the boot device I had no issues access the SATA2USB connected Samsung SSD with W7Pro on it.

I suppose my next test could be to use the Samsung Data Migration software to clone the Sandisk m.2 SSD contents onto the EVO 840 and attempt to boot from it, but I'm tired and need to get some sleep (I work nights).

Where is my Ambien ...

 

[Shivansps]

OK, so first I tried creating a Windows 7 Pro boot thumb drive to see if I could get that to boot. No dice, even though the BIOS seemed to imply otherwise. I created this using the M$ DVD2USB tool and an ISO created using M$' method. Got nowhere.

I then received a SATA to USB cable, which I connected up my backup W7Pro to see if I could get it recognized as a USB HDD, which it did, but then after the initial splash screen it BSOD and rebooted, repeated, until I gave up. When I went back and selected the m.2 SSD as the boot device I had no issues access the SATA2USB connected Samsung SSD with W7Pro on it.

I suppose my next test could be to use the Samsung Data Migration software to clone the Sandisk m.2 SSD contents onto the EVO 840 and attempt to boot from it, but I'm tired and need to get some sleep (I work nights).

Where is my Ambien ...

its probably UEFI 64 bits only, you are trying with a 64 bit uefi ready windows 7 iso?

 

[VirtualLarry]

There are special instructions for creating a UEFI-ready USB installation media for Win7. I don't believe that you can use the USB/DVD MS ISO tool to do it.

I can't point you at a reference offhand, but I know that they are out there.

There is a step where you have to move/rename the UEFI bootloader on the Win7 stick, and you have to format it as FAT32, not NTFS (as I think I heard that the MS USB/DVD ISO tool does).

 

[Shivansps]

Rufus using fat32 and "GPT for UEFI" should work fine.

While remember to use a unmodified Windows 64-bits iso, UEFI 64 bits can not boot 32bits isos.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Well this morning I got off on a tangent. I booted up the Stream mini and installed the Samsung Data Migration, which was a waste of my time. Why? Because it could not clone the Sandisk/HP 32GB SSD to the Evo 840 SSD.

I turned to Reflect and was successful in cloned the OEM SSD. From there, and while still half-asleep, I got the idea to pop it into my regular i7 PC. After fiddling about I had the HP boot software perform a Reset and ... behold I booted into Windows 8.1 on my regular PC.

In fact, I am typing this from the HP-con-W8.1 environment. I didn't have to configure anything to get online. Something tells me that the HP recovery partition if resourceful to be used for a myriad of HP products.

Once I fully wake up--I'm not dreaming, am I--I'll repeat the experiment and see if I can boot the cloned SSD on the Stream mini without the OEM Sandisk SSD installed.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I repeated my Macrium Reflect cloning and booted the Samsung EVO 840 SSD via a SATA to USB3 cable with the Sandisk OEM SSD removed from the Stream mini. I guess I can now experiment with multi-booting other operating systems since the EVO is 120GB.

 

[hans007]

ive been interested in tgetting a stream mini 32 at some point (probably once win 10 is out).

i think the easiest way to deal with it is just get a 128gb m2 ssd from mydigital SSD for $50. and a usb 3.0 to m2 adapter http://www.amazon.com/USB3-0-Adapter...words=ngff+usb

and clone.

then you have a nice dual core haswell 128gb for barely over $200. and a 32gb usb 3.0 flash i guess

 

[BarkingGhostar]

ive been interested in tgetting a stream mini 32 at some point (probably once win 10 is out).

i think the easiest way to deal with it is just get a 128gb m2 ssd from mydigital SSD for $50. and a usb 3.0 to m2 adapter http://www.amazon.com/USB3-0-Adapter...words=ngff+usb

and clone.

then you have a nice dual core haswell 128gb for barely over $200. and a 32gb usb 3.0 flash i guess

I bought a $15 SATA3-to-USB3 adapter and used a Samsung 840EVO I already had to experiment with. I'd rather see a cleaner solution in the form of an HP Part that I can acquire (ahem, purchase).

BTW, I read a bunch of the Amazon feedback on the MyDigital SSD products and I was not impressed. Many complained about early failures.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

OK, this morning I installed Kodi on top of Windows 8.1 without any issues. I then downloaded the OpenELEC software and used the included 'create an install device' to ready an old USB2 thumb drive.

I then went into the HP BIOS and disabled Secure Boot in order to enable Legacy Boot support. I was then able to boot the OpenELEC installer and got the following menu.

Option '1' appears to be the only useful option, but this wipes the disk and prevents any mufti-boot install scenario. Option '3' would have been nice in that you might imagine setting up the necessary partitions and a bootloader, but when I tried to use that option I got a message saying the feature had not yet been implemented. My question is 'Why have the option in the menu?'

 

[BarkingGhostar]

BTW, I did use Rufus and a Windows 7 Professional SP1 ISO to create a [legacy] bootable scenario, but because W7 lacks USB3 support and the Stream mini seems to lack backwards USB1/1.1/2 support in the BIOS I could not move past the initial install screen.

I now wonder what would happen if I were to clone my i7 PC's W7pro SSD and just connect it up to the SATA-to-USB3 cable. I know with XP I could delete all of the hardware devices in the device manager and move the HDD to another computer and let it discover all of the hardware of the new system.

I think because W7 has an active discovery process that it will discover any deleted device immediately following deletion. Still, I suppose I could test this scenario.