Playing with the HP Stream mini

[RayRoy]

Yes, from here:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/83635/Intel-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC-7265

 

[Kaido]

Yes, from here:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/83635/Intel-Dual-Band-Wireless-AC-7265

iirc some people were having success with Dell's driver version. Quick google search:

http://www.dell.com/support/home/il/en/ildhs1/Drivers/DriversDetails?driverId=57M2P

I don't know if that's it, and if so, if it's just a different release that has better compatibility or what, but might be worth looking into!

 

[A440hz]

Wow... after installing all Windows updates including .NET and the newest device drivers, the DriverStore folder is over 8GB. Time to upgrade this puppy to a 128GB SDD. Can anyone suggest a reliable, inexpensive upgrade?

Found this but I'm skeptical about it from a quality standpoint. I've never heard of MyDigitalSSD

http://www.amazon.com/MyDigitalSSD-128GB-120GB-Super-Drive/dp/B00LNF1RVM/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1432228092&sr=1-3&keywords=42mm+sata+m.2+2242

 

[RayRoy]

I got the ZTC one just because it was what was in stock on Amazon. It's been fine so far, but of course I haven't had it that long.

 

[Kaido]

Wow... after installing all Windows updates including .NET and the newest device drivers, the DriverStore folder is over 8GB. Time to upgrade this puppy to a 128GB SDD. Can anyone suggest a reliable, inexpensive upgrade?

Found this but I'm skeptical about it from a quality standpoint. I've never heard of MyDigitalSSD

http://www.amazon.com/MyDigitalSSD-128GB-120GB-Super-Drive/dp/B00LNF1RVM/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1432228092&sr=1-3&keywords=42mm+sata+m.2+2242

I got the Transcend for $65:

http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-MTS400-Solid-State-TS128GMTS400/dp/B00KLTPUU0

My experience with MyDigitalSSD mSATA SSD's (haven't tried the M.2) is that they're significantly slower than the big-name brands.

 

[A440hz]

I got the Transcend for $65:

http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-MTS400-Solid-State-TS128GMTS400/dp/B00KLTPUU0

My experience with MyDigitalSSD mSATA SSD's (haven't tried the M.2) is that they're significantly slower than the big-name brands.

Thanks @Kaido, just ordered one of these as well and thanks for your excellent guide. It's very helpful to have someone compile all the info scattered around about this unit. :thumbsup:

I'll link it again if you don't mind.
http://catch42.pbworks.com/w/page/94643114/HP%20Stream%20Mini

It's quite a nice little blue tub. I'm running Win8.1 w/Bing and plan on installing Windows 10 RTM when it's released. I really hate that there is no remote desktop in the Bing edition. It's working great out of the box with Kodi, Mediabrowser (now Emby) Add-on and Server WMC. Plays everything in my collection along with Live TV. I use a Windows 7 box running Emby Server with an internal Ceton Infini4 tuner as well as HDHomeRun PrimeHD networked tuner. Mine is wired to the network and I'm using a FLIRC IR, Logitech Harmony 650, and an IPazzPort bluetooth kb/touchpad. 8GB ram stick coming along with the 128 GB Transcend will more than beef it up to fit my HTPC needs.

This guide was very useful for paring down the size of Windows 8.1 and has some excellent tips for getting more performance out of it.
http://www.thessdreview.com/ssd-guides/optimization-guides/the-ssd-optimization-guide-ultimate-windows-8-edition/

 

[terra-nulius]

hello everyone..been following the trials and tribulations of this thread finding it very informative as a new owner of an hp ministream. I do however have a question or situation that im hoping someone can help me with. I upgraded the memory and grabbed an additional 2gb RAM to take advantage of the dual channel mode which worked out great.

My dilema occured during the installation of a wifi card. 7260ngw dual ac I accidently damaged one of the antenna connectors. I think that when i disconnected from the old card I ended up pulling off the post with it. So the antenna is essentially "doubled-up" and im unable to fit it onto the aux post. Right now ive got only the white antenna connected to the main post on the 7260. and the black wire i just sort of affixed onto the post and taped down. Funny thing is that it seems to be working ..i guess>>? windows reports 500 Mbps and im getting my full DL speeds of 60 whereas before i maxed out at 30-35. So my question is..what would you do if you were in my situation? How bad is it that only 1 wire is properly connected..? am i still making contact with the black wire.. Im could possibly arrange an exchange..but its kind of a pain..have to send it out..etc etc..I use it for kodi mainly so it leaves me in a bit of a lurch being a cable cutter waiting for a new unit..any advice would be appreciated.. TIA

 

[tom vilsack]

Anyone else finding there fan going slightly up and down none stop while running? I find it kinda annoying.

 

[CrackerDenty]

this thing should have been sold with 4gb ram and a 64gb hd for $50 more. 32gb is total crap. I had intended to buy a 128gb m2 ssd along with the crucial 4gb ram but we were buying other things and I said i'd wait and get the bigger drive later. it is ok oob but shortly runs out of space without anything much on it. win10 tp 10074 installed ok but the video drivers apparently weren't ready. ms basic video adapter in dev manager. could not recover using recovery partition, luckily I had made a usb recovery disk. recovered using that to go back to factory default. ran out of space trying to reinstall Asphalt 8 Airborne (which runs better than a R5 230 or hd6450 in the elderly athlonxp dual 2.1Ghz or the Phenom II 840 3.2 Ghz machines) thinking of getting http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-MTS...pebp=1433905748049&perid=1A26F4H3NGB814MEATVC asap. I reset it and installed A8 airborne lol. the images folder has some scripts for partitioning it on there, I wonder if some bright mind can figure out how modify it to use appropriate partition sizes. my only regret is not buying the bigger hd. writing this on it btw. love this little blue thing

 

[tom vilsack]

Update: After using for a couple of week's I returned mine to the MS store for a full refund. While I really liked the size,and found the speed more then enough the reason for my return was...

-the mild noise of the fan going up and down (maybe just mine? or overly sensitive hearing)
-32 gig drive is simply not big enough if you plan on using security and driver updates (I found I was down to some 5 gig's only)
-hp not providing the cable found in the "pavilion mini" so as to allow the use of a normal 2.5" drive
-version bought threw MS store is "signature edition" meaning zero 3rd party software (however after checking the registry I found lot's of traces of Mcafee antivirus program...meaning ms probably simply did a uninstall from the default HP model rather then a complete clean install)...I did contact MS tech support and even they were surprised at this one.

Will I buy next model? Well HP,give me a fanless/64gig M2/cable for 2.5" drive/windows 10/zero crapware/$250 or less Cdn and Ill reconsider another purchase!

 

[B-Riz]

Update: After using for a couple of week's I returned mine to the MS store for a full refund. While I really liked the size,and found the speed more then enough the reason for my return was...

-the mild noise of the fan going up and down (maybe just mine? or overly sensitive hearing)
-32 gig drive is simply not big enough if you plan on using security and driver updates (I found I was down to some 5 gig's only)
-hp not providing the cable found in the "pavilion mini" so as to allow the use of a normal 2.5" drive
-version bought threw MS store is "signature edition" meaning zero 3rd party software (however after checking the registry I found lot's of traces of Mcafee antivirus program...meaning ms probably simply did a uninstall from the default HP model rather then a complete clean install)...I did contact MS tech support and even they were surprised at this one.

Will I buy next model? Well HP,give me a fanless/64gig M2/cable for 2.5" drive/windows 10/zero crapware/$250 or less Cdn and Ill reconsider another purchase!

Yeah, it is almost there, mine works well for very simple stuff, like, 2 or 3 Chrome tabs open.

I am guessing the fan was due to the GPU being at 100%; I have messed with the Intel GPU power settings, and balanced keeps it quiet, but then Chrome got stutter-y sometimes.

 

[Claudio79]

Before to buy one of this HP STREAM MINI (or maybe a PAVILLON MINI) I need to understand if I will be able to connect and use 3 monitor at the same time.

3 Monitor Dell 1920x1080 at 60Hz with DVI connection
I need to use it as desktop extension, so that I can open different folders/software in every monitor. (not for gaming, but basically for stocks market)

Some of you guys can help me to understand if I can do it or not, maybe using a DisplayPort Hub (which one in case).
Thanks for your help! Claudio

 

[tom vilsack]

Mini has Hdmi and Display Port (that would cover two of your monitors with right adapters...hdmi-dvi,displayport-dvi...to get third monitor to work you could get a usb display adapter-dvi)

Guys what ya think?

 

[Kaido]

Yeah, it is almost there, mine works well for very simple stuff, like, 2 or 3 Chrome tabs open.

I am guessing the fan was due to the GPU being at 100%; I have messed with the Intel GPU power settings, and balanced keeps it quiet, but then Chrome got stutter-y sometimes.

Yeah, these are not for any sort of power users at all. I have one user who is a semi-power user and he runs into stuttering at times. The rest of the people love them (mostly because they were being upgraded from Pentium or Core Duo/Core 2 Duo boxes). They have their limitations, but for the price, it's a pretty good deal if you can live within the physical specs :thumbsup:

 

[Kaido]

Before to buy one of this HP STREAM MINI (or maybe a PAVILLON MINI) I need to understand if I will be able to connect and use 3 monitor at the same time.

3 Monitor Dell 1920x1080 at 60Hz with DVI connection
I need to use it as desktop extension, so that I can open different folders/software in every monitor. (not for gaming, but basically for stocks market)

Some of you guys can help me to understand if I can do it or not, maybe using a DisplayPort Hub (which one in case).
Thanks for your help! Claudio

The latest Plugable USB adapter supports 1080p & 60Hz. $64 shipped on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Plugable-Disp...finition-3840x2160-DisplayLink/dp/B00NI96S2O/

I've used the non-4K models in the past & even MS Office lags, but for stocks, it's probably fine.

 

[lordFarquaat]

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.

hello there, I own a stream mini and initially tried to uninstall the bloatware to get more space but after that, I noticed that i have even less disk space. how come did that happen if I expected to gain space but it got exactly the opposite. Can you help me with this please... and sorry about my english, I'm still learning

 

[RayRoy]

You might try going into Disk Cleanup and selecting Clean up system files as well.

 

[Kaido]

hello there, I own a stream mini and initially tried to uninstall the bloatware to get more space but after that, I noticed that i have even less disk space. how come did that happen if I expected to gain space but it got exactly the opposite. Can you help me with this please... and sorry about my english, I'm still learning

Did you run updates or install Office? Those take up a lot of space.

 

[tom vilsack]

This is one of the reasons I returned mine. 32g is simply to small. You really have no choice but to update the security, unless you want to leave you hp open to malware ect. Then there's also driver updates,that can make the system run better. Even if you turn off hibernation,do a system cleanup ect you can easily get down to as few as 3-5 gigs free.

It would be great if HP would sell the cable the other model uses so one could install a extra 3.5" hd,but they simply don't.

Should be interesting how HP plans on giving users Windows 10 update on a system with less then 5g free.

 

[Kaido]

This is one of the reasons I returned mine. 32g is simply to small. You really have no choice but to update the security, unless you want to leave you hp open to malware ect. Then there's also driver updates,that can make the system run better. Even if you turn off hibernation,do a system cleanup ect you can easily get down to as few as 3-5 gigs free.

It would be great if HP would sell the cable the other model uses so one could install a extra 3.5" hd,but they simply don't.

Should be interesting how HP plans on giving users Windows 10 update on a system with less then 5g free.

I never received my HP Pavilion Mini either. Guess I should cancel my order

 

[RayRoy]

Here's one more... Is there a way to get 50hz and 25hz interlaced modes on this? I can set them up on my other computers, such as my A6 7400k box, in CCC, but can't find it on this one.

 

[kenzz]

I registered just to say thanks to all those who have contributed to this thread. I bought the HP mini for occasional use watching videos and carrying out simple Office type stuff and thought the advertised 32GB SSD should be OK for that if I added a 32GB SD card for storage. I'm not a tech person but now I understand why I was mistaken in assuming the 32GB SSD would be sufficient for this sort of minimum usage.

My experience ..... disk management shows the C drive is 21.70GB and the recovery partition is 7.63GB; which adds up to 29.33GB therefore there's already about 2.60GB missing from the advertised 32GB. Rounding off figures, the factory install and deleting some bloatware resulted in 6.9GB used and 14.8GB free. Updating Win Defender resulted in 7.5GB used, 14.2GB free. Installing only the ''important'' win 8.1 updates resulted in 14.1GB used and 7.6GB free. Adding an anti-virus, win 8.1 ''recommended'' updates and minimum install of Office 2007 resulted in about 21GB used and 0.7GB free. The 21GB used is possibly less than what I should have expected but I had also been expecting that I would have about 7GB to 8GB free out of the advertised 32Gb by deleting the recovery partition after making the backup media. Which, as I now know, is not possible with HP's version of win 8.1 with Bing because the partition contains part of the boot procedure.

At present I'm OK with about 7GB free and using portableapps programs on an SD card, but I'm looking at feasible options. I don't fully understand all the stuff in this thread but I'm wondering if the following is roughly correct .....
Option 1. Find an 8.1 with Bing OEM iso; use the HP OEM product key and install without the recovery partition.
Option 2. Buy a full 8.1 product key and install 8.1 iso without the recovery partition.
Option 3. Buy a new 128GB SSD and install the HP OEM 8.1 with Bing using the HP recovery media which will create the recovery partition and a C partition for the remainder of the 128GB SSD. It seems this is a better method than using Macrium or similar to clone the SSD?
Option 4. (Which I haven't seen discussed) Wait to see what happens when the 8.1 with Bing is upgraded to Win 10 Home. Is it likely that Win 10 Home will still use part of the recovery partition to boot?

On reflection, I suppose it's too much to expect to get full use of 8.1 on a 32GB SSD but I still remember using XP on a 4GB SSD in a netbook. However I'm OK with the option of buying a new 128GB SSD if it's as easy to install as it seems using the HP recovery media ..... but I'll probably still wait to see what happens when 8.1 with Bing is upgraded to the free win 10 Home.

 

[B-Riz]

I registered just to say thanks to all those who have contributed to this thread. I bought the HP mini for occasional use watching videos and carrying out simple Office type stuff and thought the advertised 32GB SSD should be OK for that if I added a 32GB SD card for storage. I'm not a tech person but now I understand why I was mistaken in assuming the 32GB SSD would be sufficient for this sort of minimum usage.

My experience ..... disk management shows the C drive is 21.70GB and the recovery partition is 7.63GB; which adds up to 29.33GB therefore there's already about 2.60GB missing from the advertised 32GB. Rounding off figures, the factory install and deleting some bloatware resulted in 6.9GB used and 14.8GB free. Updating Win Defender resulted in 7.5GB used, 14.2GB free. Installing only the ''important'' win 8.1 updates resulted in 14.1GB used and 7.6GB free. Adding an anti-virus, win 8.1 ''recommended'' updates and minimum install of Office 2007 resulted in about 21GB used and 0.7GB free. The 21GB used is possibly less than what I should have expected but I had also been expecting that I would have about 7GB to 8GB free out of the advertised 32Gb by deleting the recovery partition after making the backup media. Which, as I now know, is not possible with HP's version of win 8.1 with Bing because the partition contains part of the boot procedure.

At present I'm OK with about 7GB free and using portableapps programs on an SD card, but I'm looking at feasible options. I don't fully understand all the stuff in this thread but I'm wondering if the following is roughly correct .....
Option 1. Find an 8.1 with Bing OEM iso; use the HP OEM product key and install without the recovery partition.
Option 2. Buy a full 8.1 product key and install 8.1 iso without the recovery partition.
Option 3. Buy a new 128GB SSD and install the HP OEM 8.1 with Bing using the HP recovery media which will create the recovery partition and a C partition for the remainder of the 128GB SSD. It seems this is a better method than using Macrium or similar to clone the SSD?
Option 4. (Which I haven't seen discussed) Wait to see what happens when the 8.1 with Bing is upgraded to Win 10 Home. Is it likely that Win 10 Home will still use part of the recovery partition to boot?

On reflection, I suppose it's too much to expect to get full use of 8.1 on a 32GB SSD but I still remember using XP on a 4GB SSD in a netbook. However I'm OK with the option of buying a new 128GB SSD if it's as easy to install as it seems using the HP recovery media ..... but I'll probably still wait to see what happens when 8.1 with Bing is upgraded to the free win 10 Home.

This is my issue with the Stream Mini; it needs extra $$$ to make it more better.

Even getting one on sale ($176) and adding 2GB RAM ($16) is close to $200; that much could get a nice refurb something that needs minimal upgrades and a more friendly form factor.

I fear the "ermahgerd look at this thing, is so small and awesome" factor is overshadowing the shortcomings of it; as it is mostly designed for use with cloud storage / external HDD's when needing extra HDD space.

 

[Dr_Bunsen]

Adding 4Gb of memory to my HP Stream Mini had an unexpected effect and I'm wondering what anyone else can recommend to fix the issue. After running the machine for a day or so, adding the software I needed, I ended up with about 5Gb of space free. I left the machine running updates overnight and it must have hibernated. The resulting space left on the machine was about 128Mb. Looks like the hibernation file which is set to 75% of RAM expanded to about 4.5Gb and filled up all the space. I thought Win 8.1 didn't use hibernation, and the option is unchecked in settings, but clearly its still creating the file. Anyone else come across this? Any advice on how to get back some space?

 

[clintchammer]

Adding 4Gb of memory to my HP Stream Mini had an unexpected effect and I'm wondering what anyone else can recommend to fix the issue. After running the machine for a day or so, adding the software I needed, I ended up with about 5Gb of space free. I left the machine running updates overnight and it must have hibernated. The resulting space left on the machine was about 128Mb. Looks like the hibernation file which is set to 75% of RAM expanded to about 4.5Gb and filled up all the space. I thought Win 8.1 didn't use hibernation, and the option is unchecked in settings, but clearly its still creating the file. Anyone else come across this? Any advice on how to get back some space?

I used powercfg.Exe to fix the same issue i had http://tekeye.biz/2014/hiberfil-sys-windows-8-1-delete