2013 Ativ Book 9 13.3" Ivy Bridge NP900X3E / NP900X3F

As I recall (and please correct me if I am wrong), the situation member go45cvi and a few others tried to solve, was one where Easy Settings would unintentionally disable the Bluetooth adapter in the 7260. Easy Settings has a feature to toggle the BT adapter, which completely powers it off, making it disappear from the device tree. The adapter will always be powered on again after Restart or cold boot, but Easy Settings then powers it off again after login (if the option to do so is checked on the Bluetooth tab in Easy Settings). In the case of the 7260 adapter, Easy Settings would always power it off, not allowing it to stay on or be powered on.

By only sideloading the EasyDisplayMgr module (dmhkcore.exe) instead of the entire Easy Settings, go45cvi was able to prevent Easy Settings from disabling his 7260 Bluetooth adapter, while still having Fn-keys. But of course other desirable Samsung features would be missing this way (Fast Start, Silent Mode etc).

Again, I am assuming that the later versions of Easy Settings (2.0.0.78 and 2.0.0.77) must know about the 7260, where older versions didn't, since they are now part of the Win7 factory installation on 2014 models that have 7260 built-in. That is why I recommend members who have replaced their older WiFi adapters with 7260 to try installing the new Easy Settings along with Samsung provided Bluetooth drivers from these models (such as NP940X3G-S04US or NP930X5J-S01US).

All this works very differently in Win8.x, where disabling Bluetooth (using Settings or Win8's Charms menu) merely disables the adapter in Device Manager, but doesn't completely power it off. However, it remains disabled after Restart, so there is no need for Settings to power it off when it loads (and no option to do so).

 

From what I have read, I think you are dead-on accurate.

I am interested in making Windows 7 only work, no current interest in this device and Windows 8.1, so what I have is a Windows 7 image of a complete install of everything except Wifi or Bluetooth drivers that I will start testing with using those model numbers you listed below. I think I already have Easy Settings installed, so I may have to uninstall it in advance, and perhaps make a new image without Network or Easy Settings, that would probably be best.
Then, I will try 3 or 4 (or more) configurations, installing the Bluetooth drivers first, and will re-image before trying any different set of drivers.
After any power-on or reboot, I will check to see if Windows 7 has installed it's own drivers, and attempt to remove them, but unfortunately a reboot, if required would re-install them!

Thanks!

 

That sounds like a good plan!

As for WiFi drivers, Win7 doesn't have built-in ones for neither 6235 nor 7260. So they will not be installed, and you have to get them from Intel (I recommend the Driver Only package, as you know).

As for Bluetooth drivers, I don't think Win7's built-in ones hurt, and they will be replaced when you install the Samsung-provided drivers. I forget if Samsung's BT drivers are required in Win7 for Easy Settings to toggle the BT adapter. (In Win8.x they ARE required, otherwise there is no BT toggle).

I look forward to hearing the outcome

 

Agreed, good plan. Unfortunately, I don't know if it can be worked out, from my experience on the X3B. I expect the Samsung bluetooth driver is required in W7. But I tried the version from the X3G along with easy settings 2 and it still wouldn't take. Unless, I should have installed the bluetooth after easy settings, I did not do that and am now on W8, so can't test. Good luck.

 

Using the models NP940X3G-S04US and NP930X5J-S01US to get drivers through SW Update, it was interesting in that neither model offered a bluetooth driver at all.
The only wireless driver was "Wireless LAN 16.10.0.5", the same for both models, but they act like they contain a bluetooth module through the "Custom" install choice "Upgrade BT+ highspeed" but no luck with that, even to this point. Why does Intel put the same "BT+highspeed" label on both the BT and the wireless drivers"?

A question regarding Easy Settings:
One of these models comes with 2.0.0.77 and the other with 2.0.0.78.
My Windows 7 Ultimate image I am working from has Easy Setting installed, and if I go to Add-Remove Programs it is listed as 2.1.
I just uninstalled the Easy Settings from a fresh image restore, and installed 2.0.0.78 and it also shows as 2.1 in Add-Remove Programs, different file size than I had but the only other information is the install date.

Is there a way to determine which version of Easy Settings is loaded after it is installed?

This is "so much fun" that, without wireless I had (no surprise) no internet, so I had to use the ethernet dongle to connect to check models!

Still working on it.

 

Wow, you're right, I didn't even notice that there are no Bluetooth drivers in SW Update for these models (yes, under Win8.1 drivers, but not Win7 drivers). That BT+ Highspeed component inside the Wireless LAN driver 16.10.0.5 is probably just for the WiFi part of the BT+ HS feature (which uses BT to detect other devices, but WiFi for the actual transfer -- that's the Highspeed part). I can see that would fail to install if underlying Bluetooth drivers are not installed.

I was able to find a Bluetooth driver version 17.0.1403.438 under Win7 drivers for model NP900X3G-S02US -- which I believe has 7260 as well. I suggest you try that.

It is very strange why it doesn't show up under Win7 drivers for other models with 7260. This must be some SW Update aberration, since surely the drivers exist and are installed on these laptops. I have observed on my own Sammy (and heard reports from others) that SW Update occasionally offers different driver choices in Find Model compared to its automatic offering. I wonder if this is such a case.

As you discovered, the Programs and Features control panel rounds the version number. SW Update should display the full version number under All Software. Otherwise check the File Properties-Details tab of SmartSetting.exe. I don't have a Samsung Win7 installation at hand right now, but I would expect that to show the version number as well.

As a side note, I just found Easy Settings version 2.0.0.83 under Win7 drivers for model NP930X5J-K02UK. This is the latest version I have seen so far.

I am sure you installed it correctly and in the right order and all that. But I seem to recall that you tested it with Easy Settings versions from last year (the 2.0.0.48-68 family). My hope is that the versions from this year (2.0.0.77-83) will have become more compatible with 7260.

At least if it doesn't work, we'll have given it our best shot. Admittedly, it is all just guesswork on my part, since I am unable to test these myself

 

I've been asking myself the same question for some time but have just figured out the answer for Windows 7.

When Easy Settings is running find Settings.exe on the Processes tab in Task Manager. Then right click on the name, select Properties and look on the Details tab.

John

 

OK, I officially give up.

I have tried everything, including the Bluetooth driver Dannemand mentioned from the NP900X3G-S02US, and 3 INTEL generic versions including a brand new patch version BT_17.1.1406.01_S64.exe which came out on 7/30/2014 (2 days ago!).

Also 5 different versions of Easy Settings including version 2.0.0.83 for the NP930X5J-K02UK, 2.0.0.78, 2.0.0.77 and 2 others.

Each time I re-imaged with a Windows 7 Ultimate image that had a full install but no wireless whatsoever, and no Easy Settings.

I varied the order, usually installing Easy Settings first, but then also last.

No difference.

Easy Settings HAMMERS not only Samsung bluetooth drivers, and not only Intel bluetooth drivers, but even the Microsoft drivers.

With no bluetooth driver installed, Device Manager shows the Microsoft generic bluetooth radio, install Easy Settings and BOOM, the radio is gone!

All in all the better part of about 30+ hours wasted, about 25+ re-images, which would have been more, but Easy Settings actually uninstalls quite well, so I did that some to switch between versions.

Also noted earlier that NP940X3G-S04US and NP930X5J-S01US which have 7260's do not even list a bluetooth driver.

This is using 2 different 7260's from 2 different sellers (Amazon and EBAY) both of which were 7260.HMW models. One of them was sold as "7260.HMWG" but I have no idea what the "G" is and the card was labeled "7260.HMW" just like the other is.

An exercise in frustration and futility - I am guessing there could be a simple fix, but I have no idea what it is.

What I did accomplish is this:

Using only the generic INTEL 7260 driver:
Wireless_17.0.5_Ds64.exe

and virtually ANY VERSION of Easy Settings,

I was able to get full functionality for everything EXCEPT Bluetooth!

Fast Start, Silent Mode, and all other functions of Easy Settings all work perfectly.

No bluetooth!

 

Yep, I can't get it to work either. It's very strange since I know it must work correctly in W7 on my X3G, but can't verify as I'm on W8.1. Perhaps I'll reimage the factory W7 and see if there's anything to it. But in theory those should be the same bluetooth driver and easy settings versions that I tested on the X3B, downloaded from software update. For what it's worth, I've moved my X3B to W8 with everything working as expected, except rapid start.

 

I share your frustration.

Samsung don't like to make it easy for users to do anything other than what Samsung thinks is best (maybe it is a principle that they have adopted from that successful fruity company).

However, I wonder if the the solution could be found by careful comparison of what is in the (Easy) Settings folder for different versions. Aside from the various exe files there are also many dll files but the first place I would look is in the various .ini and .bat files which are telling programs what to do (although some instructions may be coded into the programs).

I can also see a btModules.dat in c:\Program Files (x86)\Samsung\Easy Settings\CmdServer\ on my Windows 7 which is a simple text file. Maybe an older Settings needs a newer version of this dropping into the folder and then re-run the configuration program (whichever that is).

John

 

OK, thanks Dannemand, go45cvi, and John and all :thumbsup:

Here are some things still bothering me about this, other than time wasted:

1.) First off, I wish I had paid enough attention to the problem to realize that the bluetooth driver was not relevant:
If the Microsoft bluetooth driver can not "survive" Easy Settings install, then no other bluetooth driver need be considered.
Fix this with the Windows default driver, and you will likely fix it with all drivers.
Of course, I fully realize that the code for the Microsoft driver came from Intel.

2.) Samsung is not the only company where owners have swapped in 7260's for 6235's and seen no bluetooth.
A simple Google for: "installed 7260 no bluetooth" or other searches found quite a few others.
Here is a generic similar thread:
Upgraded Wireless card to Intel AC 7260, now no bluetooth - HP Support Forum - 3192595

3.) Could Intel's control be rooted in the chipset drivers?
Knowing that the 6235/7260 are part of Centrino chipsets, perhaps Intel bound them together with code, but that could and likely is in the Windows kernel as well.
What is so special about control of bluetooth operation?

4.) Is this the right card and is there a "defect" in them?
I know that the only 7260 that can work in these machines is the one that I tried 2 of, from 2 different sources, the 7260.HMW or 7260.HMWG.
A quick check at Intel says that the "G" just means the packaging, like aftermarket quantity of 100, not individually boxed.
So, they all say 7260.HMW on them, whether there is a letter "G" or other letter in the SKU or not.
Is there a defect, or is this intentional, as in whitelisting without an actual whitelist?

Dropped one of these in a Lenovo, and got message "unauthorized NIC" on the screen.
Straight forward, no nonsense, whitelisted, and you know that you are out of luck unless you hack the BIOS.

But what is really going on here?

 

I don't think it is the card itself. Here's a relevant thread in the Intel forum which discusses driver issues. However, it is possible that the Haswell platform also plays better with the 7260 than Ivy Bridge. While Intel might have put some effort into sorting out some of the backwards compatibility issues, they would much prefer people buy a new (Intel powered) notebook.

John

 

@aamsel and @go45cvi: It is indeed very strange why it won't work. And frustrating as hell. Of course member go45cvi DID warn us not to get our hopes up too high, based on his own extensive tests. But it seemed so logical that using BOTH Bluetooth drivers AND Easy Settings from a newer AB9 model with 7260 should do the job.

I can certainly understand if you don't want to spend/waste more time on this. But if you DO decide to take another stab at it, the following would be my main suspects:

1) Chipset drivers, as you mention yourself. Since they control the root of the device tree, they can make or break anything. As John pointed out, all Samsung's 7260 models are Haswell, while yours is Ivy Bridge. I assume you used the Samsung provided Win7 Chipset driver for your NP900X3E-A02US (version 9.3.0.1021). If not, I definitely suggest you try another clean install (not just re-image) running that Chipset driver as the very first item, before any other devices.

Some generic Chipset driver packages from Intel are backwards compatible, and I would have suggested you COULD give the Samsung provided Chipset drivers for NP900X3G or NP940X3G a try (with the disclaimer that they might render your Windows installation useless). But I just checked them now, and they only contain Haswell drivers. Most likely they would refuse to install.

2) Wireless (WiFi) drivers. I would not expect them to affect Bluetooth at all, but if anything, I think it is more likely that the Bluetooth driver depends on the WiFi driver than the opposite. So in your baseline, I would install that Wireless_17.0.5_Ds64.exe which you found to be working.

3) Are you doing an UEFI or BIOS installation? Samsung clearly target Win7 drivers (including Easy Settings) to BIOS/MBR installations (including on 2014 models pre-installed with Win7). Your model, OTOH, was designed for Win8 and UEFI/GPT installations. Samsung Settings (for Win8/UEFI) is NOT able to power off the Bluetooth adapter as does Easy Settings (for Win7/BIOS). I wonder if the firmware switch to control the Bluetooth component works differently in UEFI vs BIOS mode. In other words, you could try re-installing Windows in the "other" mode. In particular try BIOS/MBR mode if you have so far been testing UEFI/GPT mode. It requires converting your SSD to MBR and changing BIOS settings, as described at the end of this guide.

4) With reference to John's post here you could swap your 6235 adapter back in, and try spotting how Easy Settings saves the configuration option that turns Bluetooth ON/OFF when it loads, by comparing which files and/or registry settings are changed when that option is changed. (I forget the name of the option; not the Bluetooth ON/OFF toggle, but the option to set it on Windows startup). One could hope that force-disabling this option would prevent Easy Settings from touching the Bluetooth component at all. But I seem to recall that this option is disabled by default, so probably Easy Settings is hard coded to always look for the Bluetooth adapter, and it is already in that process it accidentally yanks it. That would also explain why this occurs on other brands of laptops, as you have pointed out.

Each of these suggestions represent more work, and I can certainly understand if you've had enough by now. Maybe someone else will decide to follow in your footsteps, and built on the experiences posted by you (both aamsel and go45cvi) and try some of these suggestions.

 

Just finished testing using those very chipset drivers from those 2 models, which acted like they installed, but I do not think that they did anything. I did not try any generics.

I had the Wireless_17.0.5_Ds64.exe built into my base image for the past 2 days.

I have used this test machine in BIOS/MBR mode since the day I bought it.

This is beyond what I want to fool with.

I will likely dump off this test X3E and a mint one I have with Windows 8. I want to stay with Windows 7 until "Windows 9" comes along on a non-touch notebook with fast Wifi, but my choices are getting to be few.

 

Gotcha. You really did exhaust all reasonable options there. The only thing left to try (that I can think of) is to try taking apart Easy Settings, as discussed. Or (of course) use Win8 instead.

I am sorry we didn't get it working. This mystery is fiercely resisting our attempts to solve it.

 

OK, sorry....3 questions!

For Dannemand, go45cvi, John or anyone:

1.) Assuming there are not different revisions of the 7260.HMW that anyone is aware of?
I searched but did not find any reference to such. I have tried one from a 3rd party Amazon vendor and an EBAY seller.


2.) From the old-never-ending-fast/rapid/etc threads, again, after reading about 1 trillion posts (ok, a lot of them anyhow), and still being confused as to suggested use in Windows 7, I am ssuming that Intel Rapid Start Technology and Samsung Fast Start Mode are mutually exclusive, as in you run one or the other and not both? Correct?

My apologies to about 16 open/closed discussions regarding these.


3.) Assuming there would be no way to make an adapter like this work in an X3E?

Broadcom BCM 4352 BCM94352HMB 802 11AC Wireless WiFi Bluetooth 4 0 Card 867Mbps | eBay

 

1. There are various flavours of the 7260 but this product brief indicates that the 7260HMW is 802.11ac, 2x2, Bluetooth 4.0, PCIe, USB, HMC. Other product briefs show 7260HMW AN is 802.11agn, 2x2, Bluetooth 4.0, PCIe, USB, HMC and 7260HMW BN is 802.11bgn, 2x2, Bluetooth 4.0, PCIe, USB, HMC.

I had expected the versions with Bluetooth to have B in their name. Perhaps having so many Bluetooth modes "Dual Mode Bluetooth* 2.1, 2.1+EDR, 3.0, 3.0+HS, 4.0 (BLE)) is one cause of incompatibility with older notebooks.

2. My Windows 7 X4C runs Intel Rapid Start and has the Samsung Fast Boot enabled so they are not mutually exclusive. From memory (without revisiting the IRSTRT thread), IRSTRT is basically sleep / hibernation that uses a special partition that is mapped to the RAM and kept updated in the background. It results in less delay in transition to hibernation and also resume from hibernation but makes no difference to the (re)boot speed. Samsung Fast Boot appears to improve the boot speed by deferring the loading of some processes until after Windows has loaded and the computer appears to be ready to use. One of side effects is that delayed loading of the touchpad driver means that some touchpad functions are not immediately available.

3. I would have expected that the Broadcom adapter can be persuaded to work in the X3C. Broadcom probably put more effort into ensuring compatibility with a wider range of platforms than Intel who expect the WiFi to be installed as part of the current Intel platform. However, (Easy) Settings may not recognise the Broadcom adapter and then wouldn't configure it to be turned on/off by (Easy) Settings or Fn+F10. I recall someone *Unit Igor?) getting a WiFi + 3G card to work (but not perfectly) in an X3E? It's in one of the threads.

John

 

Thanks.

Re: #1, I was wondering if there had been any revisions of the 7260HMW. The 2 that I have seen had the same markings and text on them.

Re: #2, I was referring to Samsung Fast Start, but you referred to Samsung Fast Boot instead, I was referring to the Samsung and Intel lid opening (not boot) software (Intel Rapid Start and Samsung Fast Start) and whether they are intended to co-exist or be one-or-the-other?

Re: #3: Broadcom as a NIC is likely an avenue not worth exploring in an X3E, if anyone has had huge success with a new Broadcom Wireless-ac variant please let me know.

 

1. Sorry, I can't recall which 7260 card I had and I no longer have the machine to check.

2. Fast Start is wake from sleep by opening the lid, it does NOT work from windows hibernation or shut down, unfortunately. Intel Rapid Start allows your computer to enter a completely powered down hibernation state from sleep. Note this is different hibernation than windows and one of the advantages under W7 is fast start will allow you to wake the powered off machine by opening the lid. I could not get that functionality under W8 however. Finally Fast Boot is a kludge to gain a few seconds on boot time by delaying tasks, but is probably more trouble than it's worth.

 

Yes, well said!

 

The 7260 upgrade to a Series 8 described here is working fine.

John

 

It is worth noting that member fat_boyz in that AB8 case is using Win8.1 and Settings. The problem that aamsel and go45cvi had with 7260 was when using Win7 and Easy Settings, which inadvertently disables the Bluetooth adapter during startup. Settings (Win8.x) doesn't touch the adapter hardware and doesn't have this problem.

 

Correct. But one of these days I'll have to figure out how the 7260 (albeit a different part) works on my X3G which came with W7 Pro preinstalled. I've since moved to W8.1 as I've found little reason to stick with W7 with classic shell providing an excellent start menu. It was also the cheapest option to get WMC which I'm partial to.

 

Well that one is a mystery begging to be solved

I'll have to check out Classic Shell. I use IObit Start Menu 8, which is OK, but not fantastic. But in general, I think using Win8 or 8.1 with these 3rd party Start Menus is a no-brainer. I use it the same as I did Win7, and I cannot think of anything important that I am missing, except a few minor settings from Win7 that Microsoft took away (for whatever strange reasons).

 

Well, only took me about a year, but...
Finally got a workaround for Easy Settings killing bluetooth in Windows 7 when upgrading an Intel 6235 to a 7260:

In my case, I have NP900X3E-A02US with Windows 7, and do not want to use Windows 8.1.

You recall that Easy Settings killed the bluetooth immediately, the key being that it killed even the generic Microsoft driver:
Install Easy Settings, and bluetooth was gone, completely in Windows 7.

Instantly gone, disappeared!

This had nothing to do with the bluetooth driver, chipset driver, or any other drivers!

After some reading about white lists and pinouts on the 7260, apparently Pin 20 and 51 affect wireless, and 51 is like a light switch for bluetooth in some manner.
I tried nail polish and various tapes over it - did not work, and finally a tiny piece of masking tape did the trick.

Pin 51 is the right-most pin on the label side of the 7260.

Intel lists that pin as "reserved" but does mention bluetooth, and I did find one obscure reference to someone fixing a similar issue by taping Pin 51, as well as some fixes for white list problems via taping of Pins 20 and 51.

Cover that pin, enable the card and Easy Settings and bluetooth completely co-exist (any version of Easy Settings old or new)!

The only thing that "does not work" is that a bluetooth on-off switch does not appear in Easy Settings, but if you turn it on or off in the notification area on the bottom-right of the taskbar it will stay in the state you leave it (on or off) through reboots, so it is perfect for me in all respects.

Pin 51 is the key.
It acts as a switch.
With Pin 51 exposed, bluetooth will never work on my model Series 9 with ANY version of Easy Settings,
and with it taped disconnected it is perfect (albeit non-appearing in Easy Settings).

As well as bluetooth not appearing in Easy Settings, to this point in my findings, the function key combination that turns wireless off and on does not affect bluetooth,
and, as I said above, bluetooth gets turned on and off independently with the icon in the notification area, which is perfect for me, since I use bluetooth rarely. If I was going on an airplane and wanted airplane mode, I would toggle bluetooth off before going on the plane, then use the function key combination to turn the regular 802.11 ac wireless off.

I have a Windows 7 image on an external SSD of my complete Windows 7 install with everything EXCEPT wireless or bluetooth, so I am still trying a few combinations just to verify that the bluetooth switch will never appear in Easy Settings, but I am 99% sure right now that it will not, and for me, that is fine.

I realize this is somewhat a hack, and we are not a true hacker's forum here, but I think Intel could have documented this better, and I am well out of warranty.
I think Intel could have also done some simple but "nice" things, like note have a 7260 that was wireless n and also have a 7260 that is wireless ac just to confuse the crap out of 99%+ of the general public.

I also think that Intel created the design of the 7260 with Pin 51 so that OEM's could keep people from upgrading their wireless NIC's!!!
After all, being able to upgrade from Wireless 802.11 n to 802.11 ac gives more life to an aging product which is not what the manufacturers want to happen.
Planned obsolescence = new sales.

After fooling with this for the better part of 6 months, my personal opinion is that Pin 51 was created for planned obsolescence, but that is just my opinion.

There could be another use for Pin 51 on the 7260 - I have no idea.
It would take someone on the design team at Intel to tell us that, and if you are out there, feel free to weigh in!

I know this will work for anyone if done as I did it, but if someone screws up, they could fry all or part of their S9.

Just removing the back cover on a Series 9 is at your own risk, so no further warning is needed.

If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them.

 

Has anyone had a problem with the touchpad beeping while scrolling? From what I notice it usually happens when I'm scrolling down quickly. Also the backlight for the keyboard sometimes doesn't work. I can turn it on manually but it will only stay on for a few seconds before it shuts off. Any input would be nice, thanks
Dan

 

Hi guys.

I have NP900X3F-G01UK, recently SSD died, got it replaced. Now I dont have recovery. Spent countless hours trying to install all the drivers, but its pain.
Blutooth and wifi work currently, but no WIDI or TPM host. Any tips, urls?

I tried to get recovery dvd from Samsung uk. They wanted money for recovery dvd, but when they found out im currently located in scandinavia, they refused to help in any way.
I have to admit, Im quite upset about their policies. I thought 1500euros would have given something better than this. Is there any any downloadable version of recovery image?

Im already thinking I should order another similar laptop and clone recovery and then return machine. Or visit some electronics store and use show-piece-laptop and usb stick to clone recovery (probably impossible to find F version anymore) Pretty desperate. But what can you do...

Sorry about my grammar, english isnt my native.

 

Hello iliasus, welcome to NBR.

Samsung used to provide a disc with their computers, but unfortunately have not done so in a couple years. But even back when they did, their so-called Recovery Media does NOT contain Samsung Recovery Solution nor your factory image. It is usually just a Windows OEM disc.

If Samsung replaced your SSD under warranty, but gave you back a blank SSD without Recovery, then you can rightly demand they help you, since that Recovery is the only install media provided with the computer. They may say you should have backed it up (as described in steps #1-2 of this post) but their software does not nag you to do so.

If (as I gather) you replaced the SSD yourself AND do not have a backup from the original SSD, your only options are:

1) Pay Samsung to re-image your SSD which they will do for a fee. This will re-create the original installation, including working Recovery. You may have to contact Samsung in Sweden or Denmark where they have sold these laptops in the past. Worst case you would have to ship it back to UK where you bought it.

2) Alternatively, forget about Recovery and just re-install Windows (which it sounds like you already did). You have to use Samsung's SW Update utility to get drivers (not the website) which makes installation quite easy. Use member Obyboby's install guide here. If you install the same Windows version as originally delivered with the computer, it should automatically pick up your product key from the BIOS. Otherwise use a temporary Product Key during Setup (DON'T activate yet), extract the Product Key from BIOS, change it in Windows, THEN activate. See this post for details.

There is no legal way to get a factory image for your model except from Samsung, since it contains copyrighted software, including Windows. The illegal ways (such as the ones you described) are not allowable topics for discussion on NBR.

 

Soldering iron!?

 

Ahh.. nice guide. I guess I have to redo install. But this helps enormously.
I have downloaded drivers from Samsung's SW Update, but they didnt work out of the box. WLAN kept disconnecting and bluetooth didnt work. I had to rollback drivers to win-defaults, and handpick drivers to make them work. I guess I give up WIDI and TPM for time being, and try above guide on holidays when I have more time.
Anyway, thanks for great answer. Hope this helps other people too!

Oh, also great tip. I didnt even realize this would be illegal, since keys are in BIOS. I thought recovery image would be free to distribute. Thanks for warning, I certainly can not afford to get record, I would lose my job

 

Don't worry, you're fine. We get requests for factory images quite often, precisely because Samsung is so stingy with those Recovery Media discs. It's just that NBR has a zero-tolerance policy on topics of piracy, that's all. No worries

 

Thanks for sticking with this and doing all the leg work. Appears to be working for me as well, though that was the smallest piece of electrical tape ever.

 

Hi all! I have a small but annoying problem with my Samsung np900x3e. Whenever I select shutdown from the menu, it appears to actually go into hibernation. I can tell because of how quickly it starts up when I turn it back on, and the fact that the uptime has not reset. The result is my battery drains a lot even when the laptop is "off". Can anyone tell me how to actually get the laptop to shut down please?

 

Never mind, found my answer, it's a windows 8 thing, not a Samsung laptop thing. Strangely, my desktop does not do this.

 

Right, in W8 shutdown is just a form of hibernation. You may not notice as much on your desktop if it doesn't have an SSD. A restart is still a full reboot. I don't know why your battery would drain at all though. Hibernation should be complete power off, unlike sleep.

 

Well this is a weird, but I need "key-hat-buttons". Like A B C D etc.
Where I can buy them?
Also, can I replace "hats" without opening laptop, like in older keyboards.
Are series 900 ultrabook and ativ book models compatible?
(my comp is 900x3f uk)

Guesses, URLs, suggestions welcome.
Sorry about my grammar. I hope I got my point clear. English is not my native language.

 

They are called "key caps", not "key hats".

I can't see anyone selling individual key caps but here's a complete X3E keyboard (which should be OK for the X3F) from which you can pull off the key caps you want. Start with one that doesn't matter so you can practice pulling it off and clipping back on again.

John

 

Key caps. Ok, this makes searching so much easier. Ebay-link-picture looks identical to what I have, even though it doesnt mention 900x3f (only older models).

Thank you for help JR!

 

When my NP900X3E is plugged in to charge (which is the case 99% of the time) the power indicator often flips between green, orange, or black (not connected). It's been acting this way for the past few months. When the power indicator flips to black, the screen dims significantly, so it's very annoying having the screen constantly change from bright to dim back to bright.

Do you think this is an issue with the AC adapter itself or with the internal DC jack on the computer? Does the plug pin on the AC adapter wear out? I wouldn't say the connection to the computer is very tight since you do have to apply some pressure to unplug it.

Have any other NP900X3E owners experienced this issue? If so, has replacing the AC adapter itself fixed it?

Thanks for any help.

 

You evidently have an intermittent power supply so the challenge is to narrow down whether the problem lies with plug or socket or the PSU.

First make sure that the power plug is fully pushed into the socket on the computer. It can be a little stiff and a few people have been caught out by this.

If that is OK then the next easiest thing to check would be the PSU. I always consider it's advisable to have a spare PSU so this may be the time for you to get one. I've had not problems with the "compatible" PSUs although some people say to avoid them. Look for one with an L-shaped plug.

My suspicion is the PSU. The PSU for the NP905S3G in my househod showed a similar intermittent problem which gradually got worse so I just replaced it.

John

 

Thanks for the reply John. Yeah, looking for a new AC adapter needs to happen first. The L-shaped plug on my current one kinda wobbles when it's plugged in (and yes, it's fully pushed in). It's not nearly as firm of a connection to the socket as I think it should be.

 

If it is very wobbly then you could also look at the socket.

If it is like my X3B then the power socket is slightly loose and is connected by a cable to the mainboard (much better than soldering it to the board which increases the risk of the solder joints getting broken). If you open the computer then you can seek if the socket wobbles when you move the plug (in which case it is probably OK).

However, if the plug wobbles more then the socket then it could be the socket. This part should be quite cheap if you can figure out the part number. It could well be the same as the X3B/C/D in which case a used part may be available from a dismantled dead notebook. However, I still think the PSU is the most likely culprit.

John

 

Can anyone recommend some headphones or earbuds that are compatible with this laptop? Can wireless/bluetooth 4.0 versions work as well?

I don't know anything about audio accessories and am lost trying to figure out which might be compatible or not. Thanks

 

Anything with a 3.5mm plug should work. I just tested some simple old headphones on my NP900X4C and the sound came through fine. The modern notebooks have a single combined audio out / microphone socket that will work with a combined headphone / microphone headset. This configuration uses a longer plug that connects to an extra contact in the socket but remains compatible with the simple 3.5mm headphone plugs.

Bluetooth devices will also work although I find that occasionally they can lose their connections. Such problems in past years (along with BT increasing battery power drain) have discouraged me from using BT although the more recent BT standards may be much better in that respect.

As for what type of headphone / earphone to get, we all have our own preferences. Do you want to blast out our ear drums while also blocking out all external noise or just listen to audio without the notebook's speaker disturbing others? If you want some freedom of movement then there is a selection of rechargeable BT headsets which eliminate the risk of you getting up from a chair and dragging the computer with you.

John

 

My X3E is suddenly shutting down completely while in Sleep mode whether the lid is open or closed. It's been doing this for the past 3 days, but I haven't changed any settings. It's always plugged in and fully charged at 80% (BLE on).

My Win 8.1 is up to date and I'm using the Samsung Optimized power plan.

I have the Display set to turn off after 5 minutes and to Sleep in 10 minutes. That part works fine. However, after about 20 minutes in sleep (sometimes it lasts longer), it will suddenly shut down completely. I know this because the Power button and WiFi lights turn off. Nothing will wake it from this state unless I press the power button. At which point, it fully boots again.

I've gone through every Advanced Power Settings option within the Samsung Optimized power plan and everything looks fine. Lid and Power Button are both set to Sleep.

I've also gone through the Device Manager and made sure that all of my drivers are current - including SSD, WiFi, BT, Graphics HD 4000, Display, etc.

I've researched this problem online and there's similar "sudden shut down while in sleep" reports from different owners of all types of laptops. Some believe it's a Win 8.1 issue, while others think it's hardware related.

I've tried restoring all my power options to default but the problem remains. I've also used the Troubleshooting and Action Center tools within the Control Panel, but neither show any problems. I've also run Disk Check on my SSD and no errors.

Has anyone else experienced this issue or have any solution ideas? This is driving me nuts because I'm use to leaving my computer on with the lid open for hours at a time, where it sleeps (and wakes) without any issues. Now it's basically crashing while in sleep.

 

There's a lot of similarity with the problem reported here except that problem results in a reboot. I'm wondering whether something has introduced a bug. Hybrid sleep?

Does Event Viewer > System Log give any clues?

John

 

Thanks for the link to the AB9+ owner, I may reply in that thread later after I've given this a bit more time. My problem also eventually results in a reboot (once sleep triggers an eventual shut down where it can not be awoken).

Hybrid sleep has always been turned off.

Not knowing what to do next after trying everything else, I've since refreshed my PC back to stock Win 8 from recovery, installed all Win 8 updates, and then re-installed Win 8.1 with all updates. I still have to re-install a bunch of other programs. Once I've done that and see how the machine is behaving, I'll check back in.

FYI, since re-installing the OS, my System Log shows some similar (but not identical) kernel items like that other owner. Here are the most frequent Critical, Errors, and Warnings from the Log since re-install:

Critical: None

Errors
- Event ID 3: "Kernel-Event Tracing"... "Session "Circular Kernel Context Logger" stopped due to the following error: 0xC0000188"

- Event ID 1001: "DHCP-Client"... "Your computer was not assigned an address from the network (by the DHCP Server) for the Network Card with network address 0xB6B67603A3A0. The following error occurred: 0x79. Your computer will continue to try and obtain an address on its own from the network address (DHCP) server."

- Event ID 1000: "Application Error"...

Faulting application name: EasySettingsCmdServer.exe, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x52e75292
Faulting module name: unknown, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x00000000
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x0020007c
Faulting process id: 0xd8c
Faulting application start time: 0x01d03e01db96af09
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Samsung\Settings\CmdServer\EasySettingsCmdServer.exe
Faulting module path: unknown
Report Id: 1a9cf40a-a9f5-11e4-be80-b4b67603a3a3
Faulting package full name:
Faulting package-relative application ID:"

Warnings
Event ID 37: "Kernel-Processor-Power"... "The speed of processor 2 in group 0 is being limited by system firmware. The processor has been in this reduced performance state for 71 seconds since the last report."

Event ID 63: "WMI"... "A provider, WsmAgent, has been registered in the Windows Management Instrumentation namespace ROOT\Microsoft\Windows\winrm to use the LocalSystem account. This account is privileged and the provider may cause a security violation if it does not correctly impersonate user requests."

 

Certainly the EasySettingsCmdServer error is suspicious, and I can easily imagine it would cause power management problems like the one you describe.

The Kernel-Processor-Power warning often occurs if Silent Mode has been enabled (AUTO or LOW on the Silent Mode tab in [Easy] Settings) though I cannot imagine how it would remain enabled after a new installation of Win8.1.

I wonder if Silent Mode could have been enabled when you began the installation and if this prevented Windows from detecting everything correctly. Just thinking out loud here...

Edit: Another thing to be aware of: Win8 and 8.1 take several reboots and an awfully long time to finish in the background after apparently completing installation and updates. If you clear Windows Update Files using Disk Cleanup before those background processes are done, it can corrupt the installation. Microsoft makes no effort to warn about or protect against this. It just happens, and you start getting inexplicable errors.

 

Appreciate you checking in as well with any ideas.

Silent Mode in Samsung Settings has always been off.

Re: EasySettingsCmdServer error. I ran the Repair tool from this Wiki link..

http://winwiki.org/wiki/article.php?kw=EasySettingsCmdServer.exe&

The repair tool says I have 'moderate' PC Stability issues due to these 3rd-party applications:

Easysettingscmdserver
microsoft-windows-wmi
.net Runtime
Easylauncher.exe
Etdservice.exe
iastordatamgrsvc.exe
intel Proset/wireless Zero Config
Lms
Msiiinstaller
Swmagent.exe
Systemsettings.exe

However, the repair tool doesn't "fix" these apps unless I buy the software (which I don't want to do). So I guess I'm at the point where I should figure out on my own how to "fix" these apps?

None of them are at the red level of instability according to the diagnosis and repair tool, but they were identified as issues if I assume this repair tool is to be trusted?

 

Got it, it was just a thought. Still the problem is almost certainly with Samsung Settings. EasySettingsCmdServer is the engine inside Settings that performs the actual power management and other Samsung specific functions.

In your case, I would uninstall and re-install Samsung Settings, with TWO reboots after re-install to make the new Settings finish everything. That is a good way to clean up this part of the installation. This post covers important steps to take after re-installing Settings.

That link and that tool are NOT to be trusted. It has no knowledge of [Easy] Settings or any other Samsung specific software. It was designed purely to attract google users in need of... well, anything.

To illustrate, I changed "EasySettingsCmdServer.exe" to "FatBastard.exe" in the URL, and it displays the same, seemingly insightful web page, claiming to know how to fix FatBastard problems:

http://winwiki.org/wiki/article.php?kw=FatBastard.exe&