Borrowings (Details)											1 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2010 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2011 Commercial paper USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2010 Commercial paper USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2011 Current portion of long-term debt USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2010 Current portion of long-term debt USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2011 Obligation related to notes payable to banks, lines of credit, uncommitted line of credit and other debt USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2010 Obligation related to notes payable to banks, lines of credit, uncommitted line of credit and other debt USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2011 Credit facility expiring May 2012 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2011 Credit facility expired February 2015 USD ($)	Aug. 31, 2011 Bridge Facility USD ($) D	Aug. 31, 2011 Bridge Facility GBP (£) D	Oct. 31, 2011 Bridge Facility USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2011 Bridge Facility GBP (£)
Notes Payable and Short-Term Borrowings
Amount outstanding	$ 8,083,000,000	$ 7,046,000,000	$ 3,215,000,000	$ 4,432,000,000	$ 4,345,000,000	$ 2,216,000,000	$ 523,000,000	$ 398,000,000
Weighted average interest rate (as a percent)			0.40%	0.30%	2.40%	2.20%	2.90%	1.50%
Deposits associated with banking activities							355,000,000	348,000,000
U.S. commercial paper authorization			16,000,000,000
Subsidiaries' commercial paper authorization			1,000,000,000
Subsidiaries' commercial paper authorization, available for Hewlett-Packard International Bank PLC			500,000,000
Maximum borrowing capacity under credit facility											8,100,000,000	5,000,000,000
Term of credit facility (in days)											364	364
Remaining borrowing capacity available under Bridge Facility													3,600,000,000	2,200,000,000
Amount available under credit facility	7,500,000,000								3,000,000,000	4,500,000,000
Available borrowing resources, other than 2009 Shelf Registration	$ 14,600,000,000		$ 13,300,000,000				$ 1,300,000,000							£ 2,200,000,000