PrintThis document pertains to HP Notebook PCs with Windows Vista and 7.
HP Advisor is a tool that provides easy access to computer information, including warranty details and connections to peripherals, such as printers. This document describes how to use the tools that HP Advisor offers, how to minimize the display, close the display completely, or change the default setting so the tool does not open when the computer starts.
Downloading the latest version of HP Advisor version 3.x from HP
To determine which version of HP Advisor you are using, launch the program and click Settings
in the lower-right corner, and then click the About
tab.
To install the latest version of HP Advisor on your computer, go to the
Software & Driver Downloads
web page, enter your product number and operating system, and select HP Advisor
.
Opening HP Advisor
The first time HP Advisor opens, you will see the Welcome page. Read through the tutorials to become familiar with the software program. Thereafter, HP Advisor starts automatically with Windows and opens to the dock view.
To open HP Advisor manually, complete the following steps:
- Click Start
. - Click All Programs .
- In the Programs list, click Hewlett-Packard , and then click HP Advisor .
Using HP Advisor
You can use HP Advisor in full screen or docked view as described in the following sections:
- HP Advisor dock: is a shortcut menu bar with Advisor links (PC Dashboard, PC Alerts, and PC Discovery) and your favorite shortcuts to application, web sites, and documents.
- PC Dashboard: reports the status of security settings, back up, PC alerts, storage space, and the remaining warranty.
- PC Alerts: access software updates, support alerts, and messages from HP. Manage, maintain, and update your computer to keep it running smoothly.
- PC Discovery: do new and different tasks such as viewing and editing photos and albums, listening to and managing music, and watching and creating movies and videos.
If you need more information on how to use HP Advisor, there is a tour of the software. To access the tour, click Start
, enter advisor
in the search field, and then click Tour HP Advisor and PC Dock
.
NOTE:The product name, product number, and serial number are visible on the lower area of main window.
The HP Advisor dock is a shortcut menu bar with Advisor links and your favorite shortcuts. These shortcuts can be application shortcuts, Internet shortcuts, favorite Web pages, or documents.
To open the HP Advisor to the full screen view, click the HP Advisor 
button on the dock, and then click the page you want to view, for example, PC Dashboard.
button on the dock, and then click the page you want to view, for example, PC Dashboard.You can organize these shortcuts by dragging items on or off the dock or move them to a new position on the dock. To add an item to the dock, drop it on the dock from the desktop or Start menu. To open the application, Web page, document, or other link, click the icon on the dock.
To remove your customizations, click the Revert 
button in the upper right.
button in the upper right. To close the dock, click the X in the upper right.
To open the dock again, click the Advisor
icon on the task bar in the lower right corner by the time.
icon on the task bar in the lower right corner by the time.To save any changes you made to the dock, you must close the dock before restarting your PC.
HP Advisor opens to the PC Dashboard, which reports the status of security settings, back up, PC alerts, storage space, and the remaining warranty. There are minor differences in the display of PC Dashboard for Vista and Windows 7.
The PC Dashboard tab contains several tools and links, which are described in the following table.
| Icon | Tool name | What it does |
|---|---|---|
 | Internet Connection | The Internet Connection tool can help find a broadband or dial-up package from an Internet Service Provider (ISP), and assist in setting up and monitoring an Internet connection. |
 | Warranty | The Warranty tool connects to HP warranty information on the Web, and can take you directly to HP Total Care for warranty services. |
 | Printers | The Printers tool allows you to manage and monitor your printers. This tool also provides information about printer supplies, such as ink cartridges and HP photo paper. |
 | Security | Security offers access to critical information from Norton Internet Security, if installed, or from Windows software, firewall, and security. HP recommends setting the firewall and Internet security options to On . |
 | System Storage | System Storage provides at-a-glance status of drive storage on the computer. If a status bar shows red, you must remove files from the drive partition to make more space available. |
 | Battery | The Battery tool provides information about the condition and life of your battery. If your battery is in good condition, the battery icon is green; if the battery is in poor condition, the battery will be red. The percentage in the center of the battery icon is the amount of power that remains in your battery. |
 | PC Alerts | PC Alerts provides critical and suggested updates for drivers, BIOS, and some software. |
 | Backup | Use the Backup tool to set up a backup schedule, and check when the system and your important files were last backed up. |
 | PC Help & Learn | PC Help & Learn (Vista only) opens HP Help and Support with access to system information, tutorials, troubleshooting tools, software, drivers, and BIOS updates, system recovery, and user guides. |
 | Get Assistance | Get Assistance (Vista only) provides access to HP Online Support and the HP customer support forums. |
 | Support Assistant | Support (if installed on either Windows 7 or Vista) opens HP Support Assistant and provides access to HP Online Support and the HP customer support forums. |
Click the PC Discovery
tab to do new and different tasks such as viewing and editing photos and albums, listening to and managing music, and watching and creating movies and videos.
Use one of the following options to navigate in the Experience Center:
- Click a category icon or the arrows to rotate the icons on the carousel until the category displays in front.
- On the HP TouchSmart computer, flick the carousel with your finger to rotate it, or tap a category icon or the arrows to bring the category to the front.
- Select a category at the upper right to bring that category to the front.
- To see hidden categories, click the drop-down menu at the upper left and select a category; that category icon is added to the carousel and brought to the front.
Use the Filter Preferences
button in the upper left to select which items display in the category view. Click the arrow 
in the lower left to return to the category view.
in the lower left to return to the category view.
Using Search
HP Advisor enables you to search the Web. You can also search the articles in Windows Help & Support. Use these steps to search:
- Click the arrow
in the Search box, and then select the type of search you want:- Live Search - search the Web using Live Search.
- Help & Support - search the articles in Windows Help & Support.
- Type the search words into the Search box.
- Click the Search button
. - Your search results display in your default browser.
Preventing HP Advisor from opening at startup
To change the default setting and prevent the HP Advisor dock from opening on startup, use the following steps:
- Open the PC Dashboard and click the Settings button
. - Remove the checkmark from the box next to Launch Advisor PC Dock at every boot .
- Click Apply .
If you change your mind, you can reset HP Advisor to launch automatically when you start the computer.
