HP Notebook PCs - HP Health Check Frequently Asked Questions

This document pertains to HP Notebook PCs with Windows Vista.

What is HP Health Check?

HP Health Check is a utility that is designed to alert you to potential conditions on your hard drive, and can suggest fixes, performance enhancements, and updates on a variety of issues. It also provides you with notifications of current solutions that are targeted to your specific notebook model.

Running HP Health Check performs different types of tests, which include security, performance, hardware, and maintenance tests. Health Check lists both critical and recommended updates.

After the tests are complete, HP Health Check generates a list of actions that must be performed to improve the condition of your computer. Urgent issues are flagged as "attention needed" and highlighted in red. Health Check also provides informational links to help you learn how to use specific computer features.

HP constantly revises and updates HP Health Check to optimize the performance of your computer and to solve common issues. Therefore, it is very important to keep this utility up to date.

What does HP Health Check examine on my computer?

HP Health Check scans your computer and examines four areas of concern.

Security – scans the level of security on your computer and determines if it is vulnerable to known security threats that your antivirus software may not catch. If you do not have antivirus software installed, HP Health Check flags this as a problem. HP recommends installing antivirus software on every computer that connects to the internet.
Performance – evaluates the performance level of your computer and provides information and/or fixes to improve it.
Hardware – tests all system hardware, such as sound cards, webcams, and other devices to determine if they are working properly. If any of your hardware devices are not working properly, HP Health Check provides recommendations, such as improving configuration or installing updated drivers, if necessary.
Maintenance – tests your computer and provides guidance to help you keep your computer in optimal condition.

For detailed information about which areas and programs HP Health Check can examine and troubleshoot, please see the Detailed testing information section of this document.

How do I launch HP Health Check?

To launch HP Health Check, follow the steps below.

Click Start and then Help and Support.
Click Troubleshooting Tools, and then under Health Check, click Use this tool to scan your system for security and maintenance issues to open HP Health Check from HP Help and Support.

Alternately, click Start, All Programs, HP, and then HP Health Check to open HP Health Check from the start menu.

HP Health Check opens.

How do I use HP Health Check to scan my computer for problems?

After launching HP Health Check, click Re-scan, OK (if prompted), and then OK again (if prompted).

Health Check scans your computer and then generates a list of items that require correction or repair to improve the condition of the computer. Health Check also provides informational links to help you learn how to use specific computer features.

A green bar on the report indicates that the condition of the computer is good, and that no action is required.

Figure : HP Health Check, no action needed.

Occasionally, there may be issues on the computer that are not urgent, but repairing them improves the performance of the computer. These are highlighted in yellow, and marked as action recommended.

Figure : HP Health check, action recommended.

Urgent issues that may cause major problems are flagged as attention needed and are highlighted in red.

Figure : HP Health Check, attention needed

There are clickable icons that display next to each issue that is listed. Each icon represents a different action that you can direct HP Health Check to take.

Icon	Action
	More information – Clicking this icon displays a document that is available on HP Help and Support which explains the issue in more detail.
	Quick-scan – re-scans the last component in the list to verify that the issue has been resolved.
	Repair – initiates the fix for a particular component.
	Remind me later – dismisses the issue for now, and then prompts you again the next time that HP Health Check scans your computer.

You can choose to correct each problem individually or to let Health Check correct all problems at once by clicking Repair All.

How do I keep HP Health Check up to date?

HP Health Check is set to check for updates to its own software and problem definitions every seven days by default. You can also update it manually at any point in time.

HP strongly recommends setting HP Health Check to scan the condition of your computer on a weekly basis or going to http://hp.com/go/helpandsupport to obtain the latest version of Health Check.

Detailed testing information

HP Health Check runs tests in general areas of concern, such as Security, Performance, Hardware, and Maintenance. Each of the tables below provides more specific information about some conditions that HP Health Check might detect on some computers.

Security
Object	Action
Guest Account Enabled. (English only)	Detects that the default Guest account is enabled. Provides information on the dangers of having the default Guest account enabled and offers to disable it.
HP Update software security update available.	Detects an outdated version of HP Update containing a known security issue and provides an update to the software with the security issue removed.
HP Quick Launch Button software security update available.	Detects an outdated version of Quick Launch button software containing a known security issue and provides an update to the software with the security issue removed.
Informational: Back up your Windows Vista user account password.	Provides information on password backup options and how to take advantage of them.
Norton Internet Security Application Configuration Update.	Detects an outdated version of Norton Internet Security and provides an updated version.
Phishing Filter turned off.	Detects when the Internet Explorer phishing filter is turned off. Provides information on phishing scams, phishing filters, and offers to turn the phishing filter on.
Windows System Restore is not enabled on your computer.	Detects when System Restore is not enabled. Provides information on System Restore and offers to turn it on.
Windows Update Disabled Check.	Detects when Windows Update is disabled. Provides information on the usage of Windows Update and opens up the Windows Update configuration panel.
HP ProtectSmart software update. (English only)	Detects an issue on HP Pavilion dv5 Notebook PCs and HP Compaq 6735b Notebook PCs where an optional Windows Update could put HP ProtectSmart into an incorrect disabled state. Offers to repair the issue to re-enable HP ProtectSmart on the system.

Performance
Object	Action
A copy of an older version of Windows is using significant hard disk space.	Checks the system for the existence of a Windows.old folder. Provides information on the purpose of the Windows.old folder and instructions on how to extract important data from the Windows.old folder before removing it.
Hibernate option is currently off.	Detects when Hibernation is turned off. Provides information on Hibernation and offers to turn the Hibernation feature back on.
Informational: External display is not detected when lid is closed.	Provides information on a known Vista bug related to booting notebooks connected to external monitors with the notebook lid closed.
Low Disk Space on Primary Drive C.	Detects when free disk space on the C drive falls below 11% and runs the Windows Disk Cleanup utility.
The PC performance can be increased by adding more memory (RAM).	Checks the system to determine if less than 2 gigabytes of RAM is found. Provides information on RAM and opens the internet browser to the HP web site page where more RAM can be obtained.
There is unallocated space on your hard drive.	Detects when there is a significant amount of unallocated hard disk space on the hard drive. Performs a disk operation to make the storage space available for general use.

Hardware
Object	Action
A critical update for your WebCam is required.	Detects an issue with an HP integrated webcam being installed with incorrect webcam drivers and offers to remove the incorrect drivers.
HP Limited Warranty Service Enhancement.	Detects HP Pavilion dv2000, dv6000, dv9000, Compaq Presario V3000, and V6000 series notebooks and notifies that there may be a free repair available. Opens the relevant HP.com article in an internet browser.
Learn how to use your HP Integrated WebCam.	Detects the presence of an HP integrated webcam on a Pavilion notebook. Provides information on how to manually test the webcam with QuickPlay, YouCam, and Windows Live Messenger.
The notebook PC battery charge capacity is weak.	Detects when the notebook battery charge capacity has fallen below 75%. Provides information on battery charge and provides a link to the HP web site where a replacement battery may be purchased.
The notebook PC battery needs to be calibrated.	Detects when a notebook battery needs calibration. Provides information on calibration and launches HP Battery Check to perform a calibration on the battery.
The notebook PC battery needs to be replaced.	Detects when the notebook battery has a bad cell. Notifies that there is a problem with the battery and opens the HP web site where a replacement battery may be purchased.
The optical drive may have an issue playing a DVD.	Detects a certain brand of HD-DVD drive with outdated firmware. Provides information about the HD-DVD format and offers to update the HD-DVD drive firmware.
Informational: Windows Vista Microphone Troubleshooting. (English only)	Provides information on general Vista microphone troubleshooting tips.
Informational: Windows Vista Sound Troubleshooting. (English only)	Provides information on general Vista sound troubleshooting tips.
Learn how to use your HP Integrated WebCam.	Detects the presence of an HP integrated webcam on a Pavilion notebook. Provides information on how to manually test the webcam with QuickPlay, YouCam, and Windows Live Messenger.

Maintenance
Object	Action
Check Windows Update for driver updates and Vista SP1.	Detects a Windows Vista machine without Service Pack 1 installed. Provides information on the use of Windows Update to obtain necessary driver updates for Windows Vista SP1 as well as the Windows Vista SP1 update itself.
HP BIOS update available.	Detects an older BIOS version on specific computer models and provides an updated BIOS for the system.
HP Health Check automatic updates are disabled on your PC.	Detects when HP Health Check automatic updates are disabled and will offer to turn automatic updates back on.
HP Health Check update available.	Detects an older version of Health Check installed on the machine and provides an updated version from the web.
HP Help and Support update available.	Checks the machine for the version of HP Help and Support on the machine and provides an update if needed.
Informational: Learn how to clean up your desktop.	Provides information on different ways to clean up desktop space.
Low Drive space on HP Recovery Drive.	Detects when less than 9.5% free space is available on the HP_RECOVERY drive. Compresses the recovery drive to stop the Windows low disk space warning.
Registration Pop-up Reminder update Required.	Detects an issue where Easy Internet Sign-Up, PC Registration, Extended Service Plan Sign-Up, and Service Plan Review reminders were popping up excessively. Changes system settings to remove the pop up reminders.
Ricoh Webcam Configuration Update.	Detects an HP Integrated Webcam on the system that could potentially have recording speed issues and modifies settings to fix the issue.
There is extra free space on your HP Recovery drive.	Detects when there is excessive free disk space on the HP Recovery partition. Notifies of this issue and offers to reallocate the free space as a new partition for general use.
WebRoot Spy Sweeper update required.	Checks for a specific version of WebRoot Spy Sweeper, performs an uninstall of the application when found, and then opens up a WebRoot web page where a Spy Sweeper update may be obtained.
Would you like to participate in the HP Help and Support Improvement Program?	Detects when HP Help and Support Improvement setting is turned off. Will notify of this issue and offer to turn the HP Help and Support Improvement setting back on.
You do not currently have a recovery disc for your files.	Detects when recovery discs have not been created on a machine with Soft Think’s HP Recovery Manager. Recommends creating the recovery discs and launches the Recovery Manager tool.
Cyberlink DVD Suite Update.	Detects HP HDX 16 and HP HDX 18 with an out-of-date copy of Cyberlink DVD Suite which can cause loud noises to be heard when using the webcam. Downloads and installs an update patch from the Cyberlink web site.
HP Limited Service Enhancement for Left Display Hinge.	Detects specific models and provides an alert on a possible free repair for a faulty hinge for specific notebook models.
Informational: Windows Vista Visual Effects Performance Tuning. (English only)	Provides information on how to tune Windows Vista visual effects to a classic view, thus increasing system performance.