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HP t510: Using 

Using

In May 2020 I heard from a correspondent in Austria who had pressed a t510 into service as a thin client. His main application was video editing and he decided to use the t510 to provide a secondary screen on his main system. You can read about it here

I subsequently heard from him about setting one up with Slax and using it as a media player and web browser. You can read about it here

In November 2020 I heard from Marlon about using the t510 as a Media Player. As part of this exercise he installed the 64-bit version of WES7. This is described here

Media Player

In November 2020 I heard from Marlon about using a t510 as a Media Player. Whilst he was happy to use WES7 as the OS to run the software he was unhappy that the HP t510 version was only available in 32-bit form from the HP Website. He felt that a 64-bit version would be a much better base and would also allow him to use the full 8GB of RAM he had installed.

Although the HP WES7 t510 download was only 32-bit, Microsoft do provide a 64-bit WES7 download on their website. This is the Evaluation ISO for WES7, but apparently becomes the full product when you put a valid PIDKey.

INAL I'm not sure where this stands on official licensing but I note the original WES7 reached EOL in April 2013 and WES7 SP1 reached end of extended support in October 2020. However it is now in the Extended Security Update (ESU) period (max three years) where it will only receive critical updates, so it still has an element of currency.

Before we move on you'll find mention of DISM below. A few words from Microsoft:

Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) is a command-line tool that is used to mount and service Windows images before deployment. You can use DISM image management commands to mount and get information about Windows image (.wim) files or virtual hard disks (VHD). You can also use DISM to capture, split, and otherwise manage .wim files.

You can use DISM to install, uninstall, configure, and update Windows features, packages, drivers, and international settings in a .wim file or VHD using the DISM servicing commands.

DISM commands are used on offline images, but subsets of the DISM commands are also available for servicing a running operating system.

Marlon wrote:

If you are familiar DISM and WES7, you can install the standard 32-bit HP WES7 image and use the command 

dism /online /get-packages /format:table > C:\patches.txt

This will give you a list of the WES7 components that are in the HP x86 build. It also gives you the PIDkey which is used to activating the subsequent installation of the 64-bit version of WES7. You can use the component list to build an identical x64 image.

For the PIDkey you may be better off to run the VB script you'll find under 'Downloads'. This prints the installed PIDkey in the right format.

With WES7 (x64) you get the benefits of a 64-bit processor and the ability to use 8GB of RAM. In my case, having 8GB RAM was quite useful as I could install latest version of KODI (x64) along with the Strongene H.265/HEVC Decoder. You also need the latest video driver for the VIA C9-HD GPU from Microsoft Update. If you're intending to run such content or two monitors don't forget to increase the size of the video memory in the BIOS settings. With this setup I can watch my 1080p videos without any issues.

However the Codec does get a bit confused if you are using two monitors at the same time. This tends to happen if the format is AVI, or if you move a player from one monitor to the other. If you temporally disable one of the monitors, the video goes back to playing smoothly. I don't know what the position is if you have less than 8GB of RAM.

For the sound driver I got better results with the Dolby DTPC Home Theater driver (less memory and much better sound quality and resources). If you've only got 4GB RAM, I would suggest using a very lightweight AV Program.

Having made these choices the system boot time is slower, but once the system is up and running it is solid and stable.

It only goes to show that a small well configured WES7 system running on hardware from 2011 is still perfectly usable, and can provide reliable service for some time to come.

Downloads

Notes

Please do not select any SKU when you're deploying your WES7 install. If you do it will mess up activation. (HP don't use it in their build either).

In the first OOBE screen, before you do anything else, press Shift key + F10 Key to open a command Prompt. You can then PERMANENTLY activate Windows and fully enable the Administrator account. (I recommend you use this account and ignore/delete the account created by OOBE - the user account).

Note: During the following two warnings will pop up, one about the activation status and one about the PIDkey. Each case just click on OK. If you don't see them you'll need to use the ALT+TAB key combination to switch these windows to the foreground. 

ewfmgr.exe c: -Disable -Commit
fbwfmgr.exe c: -Disable -Commit
slmgr.vbs /ipk XGY72-BRBBT-FF8MH-2GG8H-W7KCW
slmgr.vbs /ato
NET USER Administrator /active:yes

Later OOBE will ask for the PIDKey. You must use the same PIDKey that you have used on command prompt above.

This set of commands correct and updates Windows Certificates (sometimes they don't update automatically) 

certutil.exe -generateSSTFromWU roots.sst
rootsupd.exe /c /t:C:\PS\rootsupd
CertUtil.exe -store Root rootCertSerialNumber
CertUtil.exe -store TrustedPeople signingCertSerialNumber

Drivers and Marketing speak

Dolby Sound Driver: When installing this you will see a warning about it being unsigned. You can ignore this. The warning is expected and is mentioned in the Dolby Documentation.

Dolby DTPC Home Theater driver (less space and much better sound quality and resources):

Supported Soundcards:

  • Realtek
  • Analog Devices
  • Conexant
  • SigmaTel/IDT
  • IDT
  • VIA

Supported HDMI Drivers:

  • NVidia HDMI (HDMI GFX,HDMI LFX and Analog GFX, Analog LFX)
  • ATI HDMI (HDMI GFX,HDMI LFX and Analog GFX, Analog LFX)
  • Intel HDMI (HDMI GFX,HDMI LFX and Analog GFX, Analog LFX)

Compatible Codecs:

  • Intel HDMI codec
  • ADI codec
  • Analog Codec

Dolby reference drivers technologies are based on the Windows 7 High-Definition (HD) Audio Universal Audio Architecture (UAA) class driver. These can be used in conjunction with one of the consumer applications as a reference for how the driver package containing the Licensed Implementation should work.

Dolby Home Theater v4 Dolby by Laboratories, Inc.
Copyright (c) 2010 - 2013, Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
Driver Build Version= "7.2.7000.4"

Dolby Home Theater v4 Benefits:

  • Authentic Dolby Surround Sound
    Dolby(R) Home Theater(R) v4 converts your music and other two-channel (stereo) entertainment into 5.1-channel surround sound, and 5.1-channel entertainment like movies into 7.1-channel sound.
  • Simplified Home Theater Connections
    The Dolby Digital Out feature in Dolby Home Theater v4 makes it easy for you to connect your PC to a home theater system.
  • Consistent Volume Levels
    The Volume Leveler feature in Dolby Home Theater v4 locks in your preferred volume level for more consistent listening.
  • Increased Dialogue Clarity
    Dialogue Enhancer improves the clarity of speech in your entertainment, so you can follow every word.
  • Distortion-Free Performance
    Dolby Home Theater v4 optimizes audio performance for your specific PC model and lets you turn up the volume without distorting the sound.
  • Total Audio Control
    A ten-band graphic equalizer in Dolby Home Theater v4 provides you with complete control over your PC's audio profile.

 

Any comments? email me. Added November 2020