Replacing HP QuickPlay with XBMC(or any other application)
May 9th, 2009

I love my HP dv6915nr. It’s not the fastest or prettiest notebook around but it does most of what I want it to and does it quite well. However, one of the things that I hate is the bundled HP Quickplay software, which like the name suggests allows you to access your media very quickly. Versions 1.x to 2.3 of QuickPlay were based on Linux or Windows XP and had their own partition. As a result, it started up real fast and was battery friendly (kind of).
Version 3.x,which comes with my notebook, is different creature altogether.

HP QuickPlay

HP QuickPlay

First, it runs as an application under Vista, meaning I have to wait for Vista to load before I can access the QuickPlay. And unfortunately, there appears to be no way to get an older version of Quickplay on my system, due to compatibility problems with newer computers.
So I got to thinking, if I have to wait for Vista to boot before getting access to my media, I might as well use the media center of my choice. Enter the XBox Media Center(XBMC). I won’t really go into XBMC, but it is the sweetest media center I have ever come across and I have tried a lot of them.

XBox Media Center

XBox Media Center

What I wanted to do was link the QuickPlay button on my notebook and the included remote to start XBMC up instead of QuickPlay. After consulting the great search oracle, I found what I wanted to know. The application that runs when the QuickPlay button is pressed is specified in the registry.(Like most of the other stuff on this site, the rest of this post can mess up your computer so the usual disclaimers apply. Proceed if you’re sure you know what you’re doing. And always remember to backup before doing anything that could cripple your system.)

Anyways, you need to find the following key:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Hewlett_Packard\HP Quick Launch Buttons\
Next, look for the string value called QAction. It should currently point to
C:\Program Files\HP\QuickPlay\QP.exe.
You can change the string to point to whatever other application you want. In my case, that’s C:\Program Files\XBMC\xbmc.exe

That’s all. Now I have my own incredibly customizable media center only a button away. Did I mention how much I love my computer?

Referenced
http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showthread.php?p=108960#post108960

Filed under: Homeless — Kwame @ 9:12 pm

3 Comments »

  1. u are a crazy guy

    Comment by Filsman — June 18, 2009 @ 8:11 am

  2. WOW , how cool. I hate quickplay… is the only bad on my hp.

    Comment by CRR — July 5, 2009 @ 7:18 am

  3. Yeah. HP Quickplay does make “suckiness” an artform.

    Comment by Kwame — July 20, 2009 @ 10:13 am

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