2013 Ativ Book 9 Plus owner's lounge (NP940X3G)

I have the same issues as you and I found that Firefox handles all of them (adblock, sync across devices, etc) and has other great extensions and features. I know it can be painful to change something as fundamental as a browser for all devices but I found It very easy to transition from Chrome to FF - on all my devices. It also scales and scrolls perfectly on the AB9+. It's a tad slower than Chrome on Android - but not on Windows - in its latest version, but that's usually resolved in the next update, usually within a week. And, of course, you can import your bookmarks, history, etc from other browsers and it will even try to add the same extensions (if available on FF - and most are) from your previous browser.

 

For me there is no reason to switch from chrome to Firefox. The only reason i would change to IE is that its touch-optimized. But is there a metro- version of Firefox? I'll take a look myself.

 

When this happens, and when you let it sleep then resume, does it go back to normal (ie, close lid, open lid)? Try one of the older drivers such as 11.7.10.4. The scrolling is not as smooth, but it seems to be less buggy.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...-trackpad-discussion-only-40.html#post9736621

 

Sorry, I misunderstood you. You were saying no reason to switch to IE, and I thought you were saying no reason to switch to Chrome, for reasons you stated. My bad. Reading never was my strong suit, .

While we're on the subject, is there a metro version of Chrome? Is your only reason for caring a Metro version, for smoother scrolling? On that, FF does have some good extensions for smooth scrolling, just from the desktop version, that makes scrolling in W8.1 as smooth as with IE in Metro. I'd given up on Chrome a while ago, but is it now scaling well in QHD+ ? Is scrolling the only thing you find unacceptable about Chrome at this point?

 

Sorry if I'm beating a dead horse, but is the consensus that one should install the newest graphics driver for this model from Samsung SW Updater? It is not clear to me what the benefits of the update are - the discussions here were all about the it removing some controls for automatic screen dimming - and I am one who prefers not to change drivers at the behest of the hdwe mfr if there's nothing "broke" that this will "fix."

Thanks.

 

Usually, newer is better but when it becomes known that more gets broken than is fixed then I agree with you that the update should be avoided.

It would help if Samsung's SW Update included a "hide" or "ignore" feature.

John

 

No "Metro" version of chrome, and there was a "modern UI" version of Firefox, but it was scraped - apparently.

I´m looking for a touch-friendly browser. Scrolling is as smooth in Canary as any browser, but UI-elements are a bit small. Well I´m stuck with Chrome for now.

 

Doesn't Relaunch Chrome in Windows 8 Mode work? I've never tried it as I never use Metro mode.

 

No. Nothing hapens when you do that. It used to, but not anymore. The UI never changed when metro-mode was activated. Chrome just diden't launch on the desktop.

The battery on this thing is high quality. I have 137 cycles and only have 1.4% battery wear. On the old Series 9 I could add a couple of % every time I used it below 10%

On my late 2013 MBPr I have 118 cycles and 2.1% wear.

 

Just tried it on my Series 7 (1600x900, Win8, Chrome Version 36.0.1985.125 m) and it did switch to Metro mode, but Chrome still looked like a Desktop window within a full-screen Metro session. Closing the window and opening Chrome from the Start Screen did the same. Again, I have no familiarity with Metro, but it didn't look normal to me. I quickly switched back to Desktop mode.

 

I have 38.0.2115.0 and the W8-mode is now not even an option. It was there before the last update, but clicking it did not result in anything. But as you mention, it was just regular Chrome in full-screen-W8-mode, so no loss here anyway.

 

Bumping this - really has me stumped and preventing me from taking advantage of multiple power profiles at touch of a button, vs going into the "Balanced" profile and altering individual settings each time I want to modify without having full brightness - worst case: "High Performance" profile gives me maximum 40% brightness. Nuts?

The bumped post:

Can we go back to the future for a second?

A little while back there were a series of posts about:

1) people having problems with eliminating all adaptive brightness settings
2) issues surrounding the newest Intel graphics driver - it removed some power controls in the Intel graphic control panel and wasn't clear what, if anything else, it did

3) Somewhere in there, or maybe earlier, there were a number of people with issues regarding overall brightness of the screen of this model

Well, yesterday I noticed two things:

1) the graphics driver update installed itself - Windows Update? (I purposely did not install it because I didn't want to lose the controls and saw no other benefits.) I rolled back the driver but the controls were still missing.

2) My screen would go no brighter than about 40% of normal full brightness (of course, I rechecked all the usual suspects - though I would be happy for someone to re-list them. It did not appear to be using adaptive brightness - it didn't go up and down and when I changed the ambient light it didn't change the brightness. Also, when it booted up, or down, the brightness on the background screen and the white lettering "Shutting Down" and even Welcome, was all at normal, full brightness.

After nothing else worked, I did the normal elegant thing: restored to two days ago! Brightness is back to normal!

EDIT: Did some more sleuthing. Seems last night I switched power from Balanced to High Performance as I was getting some skips in a video (which I don't think helped at all, though it has before - on different computers!) Anyway, I have now learned that with each of the four power options: Power Saver, Balanced, High Performance and Samsung Optimized, I get a different maximum brightness, and I have no idea why. Also, the High Performance setting gets the lowest brightness and and the Balanced setting gets the highest brightness and the others are in between. Bear in mind: this is on AC only, not battery.

What gives?

Best,
Jeff

 

Is there a solution for the problem where some programs show up really tiny on the screen with tiny text?

Sorry if this has been resolved and I missed it.

Thanks.

 

I know a "me too" response to a posted problem is about as useful as, well, no response at all. Me too!

But wait, I've something to add : if you change your screen resolution to, say, 1600x900 the tiny thing will become, well, bigger (duh) and fully legible. Not an explanation or fix, but a good workaround.

@Someone (dannemd, John Ramsey?) : any thoughts? As much as I wish it wasn't so, QHD/QHD+ resolution is still cutting it's teeth and there are some annoyances to work around. That said, just about every new notebook is using this res and it can't be long before the quirks are gone and there is more content at hi-dpi. (You listening, Microsoft? Just copy what Apple did w/Retina notebooks and tablets, 'Kay?)

Best,
Jeff

 

Thanks. I've dropped the resolution and things are bigger which helps. Feel weird not utilizing all that wonderful resolution though.....

 

The underpinnings for a fully scalable UI are in place in Windows: Scaling of text based UIs has been in place for several Windows generations; Win8 added support for other UI elements and individual app settings; and Win8.1 added more flexibility and automatic scaling for a mix of screens with different DPIs and apps with and without high-DPI support.

But application developers need to make use of it.

As you probably know, instead of dropping resolution, you can tell Windows to increase scaling ( Make text and other items larger or smaller in the Screen resolution control panel). That will apply to all apps, though can be set independently for multiple monitors (in Win8.1). Individual apps can have their scaling disabled through the Compatibility tab (in Win8.x).

The problem is legacy apps using bitmaps instead of text for their UI elements, causing overlapping UI elements or blurry text when scaled. Adobe Photoshop (and family) and Google Chrome are big offenders, with UI designs seemingly stuck in the 1990s (understandable in Adobe's case, but not in Google's). These developers need to get their act together.

I am a high-res junkie myself (since working in prepress in 1980s) and believe that the app developers will get it right. The idea of forcing a lower resolution (poorer rendering quality) in order to make text large enough is just silly. OTOH, Windows' strength is its backwards compatibility with a huge market of professional apps, and many of those may never be updated.

 

So, with an app like Sugarsync or Avira Antivirus that is always running and sits in the system tray, how would I properly scale the app when I open it from the tray?

 

Thanks for that typically thorough and informative respons. I know I am 100% with you but you left one event out. For example the "EDTWare Control Panel Extensions" (has a shorter nane, just cant find now) that adds numerous additional controls for the trackpad. When you bring up that CP it comes by default so tiny you need a magnifier just to read it. (would sb app like this be bitmapped?) In any event, the very useful advice given me was to drop the resolution just to utilize thiss, and other applets that don't follow your Windows scaling settings, then go back to full native res after using. Again, inelegant, but gets the job done. Any more efficient ways come to mind? Thanks again, as always. Jeff

 

I've been reluctant to embrace high DPI in Windows because of the size and scaling issues. The latest versions of programs have sometimes addressed these issues but who wants to have to pay for the latest version of an infrequently used program when their older version provides all the other needed functionality?

One possible workaround may be to set up a virtual machine with a lower resolution display and use it to run the high-DPI unfriendly programs but this approach needs a spare Windows licence.

My fix for the whole problem would be to leave Windows running at a fairly low DPI but let the GPU render the display, including appropriate interpolation and smoothing according to the actual panel resolution. Has anyone taken a very close look at the display (macro mode on a good camera might be the best tool) to see what happens to the pixels when Windows is told that the display resolution is only half of its physical resolution?

John

 

Unfortunately I don't think there is a way to selectively enable scaling on individual misbehaving apps. You will have to increase scaling under Make text and other items larger or smaller (after returning to full 3200x1800 resolution) until those apps are workable. If you increase it all the way to 200%, you should achieve the same scaling as when you drop the resolution to 1600x900. But don't scale it more than necessary, since it will affect all apps. Then for individual apps that shouldn't be scaled, you select Disable display scaling on high DPI settings on the Compatibility tab for that app (in Desktop mode you right-click and select Properties on the shortcut or EXE; I couldn't tell you how to do it in Metro mode, though I am sure there must be a way).

Maybe others who own this model can suggest another or better way.

You are spot on: ETDAniConf (assuming that's the one you're referring to) is a good example of an app that would use bitmap UI elements and wouldn't scale properly unless the entire UI is scaled -- and will properly look terrible even then. And as you say, for apps like that, which you only use very rarely, it may be tolerable to temporarily drop the resolution. But for an app you use several hour a day, it had better work right, otherwise you're better off with a lower res display.

In my opinion, the resolution of the AB9+ hits a sweet spot, in that you can use it at 1600x900 (perfect pixel doubling) while waiting for your favorite software to support high-DPI. I consider 1600x900 just about the best resolution for 13-14 inch displays when used without scaling. The 1920x1080 resolution of the (otherwise excellent) display in NP900X3E/F/G is a tad too high for my taste at 13 inch and requires 125% scaling. So for that reason, I prefer 3K displays on a 13-14 inch laptop rather than 4K, which is now becoming prevalent.

Edit:

The article here seems to cover the subject of Win8.1 scaling quite well. I am sure there are many others.

 

That's a good point: Why pay for new programs when the old ones do what you need?

Despite what some marketing departments may try to have us believe, resolution is definitely not a spec like CPU speed or storage size, where higher is always better. Each user will have to balance how much they will appreciate the higher resolution versus the cost (hardware AND those software updates) and inconvenience (apps that don't scale well and don't have updates).

I find it odd that 4K displays are now being pushed on gaming laptops, where hardly any GPU can keep up at medium (or even low) display quality settings, and where upping those settings on an FHD display will arguably do more for visual quality -- if the GPU can deliver it.

I find improved text rendering to be by far the best argument for high-DPI displays. As a prepress guy in the 1980-90s, who lived through the font wars and actually worked with font design, I am acutely aware of the huge difference that higher resolution makes on the clarity of text rendering. I'll spare you all a lengthy dissertation on the subject, but suffice to say that small text on a 4K screen can be dramatically sharper and easier to read than the same size text on a FHD screen (no to mention 1366x768 screens ). And 4K is still quite low resolution compared to even the poorest quality of print publications. This article gives an idea of the challenges, even if you just scan through it.

 

Bumping again. This has me so frustrated!

 

Hi all,

My NP940 has recently developed a problem - about 75% of the keyboard backlight has stopped working. It is completely dark on the left side, up to about the "8" key. I'm guessing this is an issue with the whole keyboard assembly. I've opened it up and checked the connectors and I can't see any issues.

I don't suppose anyone knows where I can get a replacement keyboard assembly from? I bought the laptop from the US but I live in the UK and Samsung support have told me I need to send it to the US to get it repaired; as it's my primary work laptop I can't really afford to be without it for a month whilst I send it to the US.

I've had a quick Google and emailed a couple of spares people and so far no-one's been able to help, so was hoping the community could!

Cheers,
Rob

 

If it is less than 1 year old then it is covered by Samsung's international notebook warranty and you don't need to send it to the US.

However, the Samsung UK service centres may not have a US keyboard (usually a complete keyboard / touchpad / palmrest unit) and I can't find the part number listed at samsungparts.com which is usually a very good source of information.

You might be able to persuade Samsung to replace your dead keyboard unit with a working UK version. It's certainly worth a try - it's their warranty obligation to try to repair the problem but they may want to get the computer in to confirm the diagnosis. What you want to avoid is them sitting on the computer while they order in a part.

If you are in London then you could try the walk-in service at Samuel King.

Otherwise try contacting Digicare who seem to be the biggest of the Samsung UK service agents.

John

 

I'm going to try a question from a different angle, as in 3 bumps it's yet to get a response. I have recently found that, depending on what power plan I choose, the maximum brightness of my screen - when manually set to maximum brightness - differs from plan to plan It's brightest on the Balanced profile, next best on the Power Saving profile, next on the Samsung Optimized and, ironically, darkest on the Performance mode. I use the same supporting settings in the advanced settings (except maximum processor setting, cooling method, a few other settings that have impact on power consumption but not effect maximum brightness of the screen.

Can anyone suggest a reason/fix?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

Perhaps there's a set of confused settings as a mix and Samsung and Microsoft default power plans.

I recall reading that if you press the Fn+F3 (increase brightness control) several times once it has reached the apparent maximum then you will be able to increase the brightness beyond this artificial limit. Give it a try.

John

 

Brightness settings (including actual brightness level and Adaptive Brightness setting) are saved independently for each power profile AND for Plugged in and On Battery. So every time you plug/unplug the power adapter OR toggle Silent Mode (switching between Samsung Optimized and Power Saver profiles) your brightness is likely to change.

So basically you need to disable Adaptive Brightness in all the usual places (listed here and here) both with Silent Mode OFF and ON (AUTO or LOW). And in both modes you need to disable it for both Plugged in and On Battery.

Newer versions of Settings are better at controlling this, providing a single tab where you can disable Adaptive Brightness for both Plugged in and On Battery -- and it will apply it to all the necessary places in Windows. But some users prefer using older 2.0.x versions of Settings because they have Samsung Fast Start Mode (automatic wake-up on lid open).

I apologize if this was trivial and not what you were looking for

 

I was aware of that and my observations are based on brightness levels after pressing and holding F3 multiple times. Btw, is there any benefit to using the "Samsung Optimized" power profile (as the base - I always tweak individual settings) vs the Windows "trio" (Balanced, Power Saver and Performance Mode)? I haven't looked setting-by setting to see what the Samsung Optimized default settings are and which Windows default profile they are most like. Do you ever use the Samsung as your base? Thanks, Jeff

Wow! I was with you all the way until you added each of the three quietness settings, for both AC and battery!

 

Just to clarify, both of the Silent Mode Settings (AUTO and LOW) use the Power Saver profile, so it's "only" in two profiles you have to disable Adaptive Brightness. But for both Plugged in and On Battery.

Instead of the Windows trio, I generally recommend to stay with the power profiles provided by Samsung (Samsung Optimized and Power Saver) and tweaking them to your liking. I have not tried to take the profiles apart, but it is absolutely possible that Samsung may have them tied in to something in their firmware and DSDT and fan tables. Power Profiles can contain things we don't see in the Advanced Power Plan Settings screen.

As for the High Performance profile, I find that one to be wasting an enormous amount of power with very little speed gain, compared to a properly tweaked Samsung Optimized profile. This is mostly due to it permanently locking CPU processing speed at 100% regardless of actual demand; but also a few other settings where it completely forgoes even reasonable power saving features. It makes sense with certain low latency real-time types of applications, but not for most ordinary users.

Samsung like to do things their own way, not the standard Windows way (or Android way for that matter). The following posts explain how power settings are generally handled on Samsung laptops:

Overview of Samsung Power settings

About Windows Power Profiles (Power Plans)

Silent Mode explained (Win7 but also applies to Win8)

Important tweaks anytime Settings/Easy Settings has been installed

 

I use a the Samsung Optimized power plan most of the time. High Performance makes no significant improvement. If I want maximum battery time then I may switch to Samsung's Power Saver plan.

I assume, perhaps wrongly, that Samsung may have tweaked their power plans to give the best results for their hardware. However, I don't know whether Settings (which does the power plan installation) contains the truly optimum settings for all the different notebooks it supports.

John

 

Thanks for that John. Still being fairly new to Samsung notebooks (old hand w/their Android stuff) I've stuck close to the Windows settings I've known well since W7 and even XP. but you are definitely one of the few Sammy notebook aficionados around and on your say-so alone I'll try the Samsung Optimized and see how it goes. I guess Samsung's compulsion is to modify the industry standard OS such as the Settings on Windows notebooks and the love it/hate it TouchWiz on Androids. I'm not such a purist about these things - never have felt that "stock Android" was all that special and I've got my Nexus 7 2 tablet tweaked with enough apps that it's no longer "pure" anyway and there are some functions - eg, camera - that is rarely optimal in stock Android. Still there are certain settings - power high on my list - that I prefer be truly Standardized because I find it nearly impossible to easily measure which mfr tweaks are beneficial and, particularly with W7/8, I've come to rely on the base OS power profiles and the customary in-profile tweaks to get desired results. I've always assumed that "Balanced" power profiles in Windows 7/8 notebooks use the same default settings whether it's called "Balanced" or "Samsung Optimized" or, say, the "HP Recommended," as that mfr titles theirs. It's time consuming enough to have to check the defaults used by each mfr but hearing that Samsung may have some hidden settings, that may or may not be truly tailored to their hardware - well, kind of makes me want to stick with Windows profiles and be done with it!

 

Ditto, I guess

 

Dannemand, Thanks much for your always massively informative responses! As I alluded-to about a John Ratsey post, above, it goes from usefully adjustable to insanely confusing and unpredictable when OEM s get too fancy with operating software. Tends to leave me feeling that either none of the proprietary tweaks have much impact and serve to entertain the designers imagining us playing around with settings all day that they know are like dials that spin but don't adjust anything - or, maybe just as bad, that they really do have "hidden" hooks into firmware that can cause major changes (like my brightness outcomes) such that I go from being a lover of hacks and tweaks to one who wants to give up and seek an Apple-like "one size fits none," but at least the result is consistent! I don't think I'll ever get to that point with computers, but I'm getting tempted for the first time ever to consider an iPhone 6 because I'm jealous every time my wife pulls out her phone, snaps a photo and gets a perfect shot every time while I'm still fiddling with settings on my gs4 and getting blurry photos!

One reason I'm already missing Sony Vaio is that their high end models gave you lots of proprietary control panels to tweak (and phenomenal BIOS hacks when you wanted to redesign your own computer!) but also reliable default modes when you didn't want to spend time fiddling. I had the impression that was Samsung's computer front end philosophy as well but we'll reserve judgment pending a little more learning curve time.

Really, thanks so much for your fonts of knowledge and generosity with your time

 

I purchased a NP940X3G-K04CH recently which is an i7/256 GB/8 GB version. I am extremely satisfied with this and looking to upgrade my 256 GB to Crucial 512 SSD (m.2 NGFF B+M key). I have ordered an adaptor to clone my existing SSD. The problem is I cannot boot my system from USB. I have tried with 4/8 GB USB 2.0 versions and none of them even show up in F10. I have disabled the Fast Boot option and still this would not show up. I have tried to search this forum but multiple comments are confusing me. Can anyone of you guide me the process & if there are any special brands of USB for ATIV Book 9 Plus series.

I am ultimately looking forward to have a new 512 GB SSD, create partitions and install Win8.1 Pro and use the key supplied to activate that. I will retain the original 256 GB with me. All this is possible if I can boot a Windows 8 stick from USB with the new 512 GB installed.

Request guidance please..!!!

 

Hello kauban, welcome to NBR, and congrats on your lovely new AB9+.

You are most likely running into the same problem as most users who have experience installing on Win7 systems, but caught by surprise by the significant changes that Win8 brought in the form of UEFI/GPT. Check the post linked below and see if that helps. (Don't let the title of that thread scare you, it's just where this post happens to be.)

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/746708-fast-boot-uefi-bricked-my-system.html#post9583744

You have other options than clean install for getting Windows onto the new SSD, particularly if you want to preserve Samsung Recovery on it. Check the post linked below for the different options:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...780z5e-np870z5e-np880z5e-422.html#post9581054

 

Thanks for your fast reply. I can still boot into Windows 8 and did not mess its BIOS Settings. I would only need answers to the following points -

1) Can I buy a Kingston 16 GB USB drive to take a backup of the factory image using Recovery utility? I assume that would help me to restore the computer to a factory image in an event of any disaster.

2) Once I receive my new 512 GB Crucial SSD I can simply install this and use the backup from Point 1 to boot through USB and copy the factory partition to the new drive. I can then delete the Recovery Partition from the new drive as well as the unnecessary S/w's, create additional partitions, using Windows Recovery option to take a system image and recover from that at any point. Having done that, I would still have the original SSD and the bootable image in USB created in point 1. I assume once I delete the recovery partition in my new drive F4 recovery will not be possible.

 

You said you were unable to boot USB, I assumed you meant a Windows Setup USB stick. The most common way to create Windows Setup USB sticks (Microsoft's ISO/USB tool) can only create NTFS formatted sticks, which don't work in UEFI mode (default on Win8 computers). Also, SecureBoot usually has to be disabled in BIOS in order to boot a Windows Setup USB. It can be re-enabled after completing installation.

Those topics are covered in the posts I linked. I apologize if that wasn't your question. At least now it's included for others who may see this.

Recovery is fickle about which USB sticks is accepts -- and it doesn't always give warning until you try to use the USB stick and it's too late to create another backup. Unfortunately the only guidance I can give is what's in this post: (A) Stay away from SanDisk, (B) Make sure it shows up as a Removable Disk in Windows Explorer (Computer), (C) USB2 sticks are generally safer than USB3, although some members had no problems with USB3 sticks.

Some models require 32GB sticks in order to accommodate the full SRS software in addition to the factory image. I think you're right that 16GB is enough with the AB9+, but please search this thread to confirm.

Note that member brakza recently reported in this thread how he was able to create and use a bootable factory image backup on an external USB HDD instead of a USB stick. That is the first time we've heard that (although many have tried) and we are waiting for some more details about it.

The bootable factory image backup will completely re-image the new SSD, including Recovery and Windows installation (after your first boot).

The guide I linked under (1) covers how to free up more space, including deleting Recovery. You are right that by keeping the USB stick and the original SSD, you shouldn't need Recovery on the new SSD. However, if you can spare 1GB, I suggest you leave SAMSUNG_REC alone (the small Recovery partition). That will preserve F4, so you can always load the Samsung Recovery software without having to re-image the SSD (from the USB stick) or swapping the original SSD back in.

I recently summed up the various Recovery backup and restore options in this post. It's a bit more technical, I include it here just for completeness.

 

I'm kinda confused as to why you would want to clone the samsung factory image. If you wanted to clone your existing setup then it makes sense. But why not just clean install W8.1 if you're starting from scratch anyway? I really don't think samsung recovery offers much benefit over windows built-in utilities. It's mostly useful to restore the system for warranty/resale situations. Since I presume you're just going to keep the old SSD with intact partitions, why not take the opportunity to do a clean install on the new drive without all the samsung bloat and up to date drivers?

 

I was able to take backup of the factory image on a Kingston 16 GB USB drive. The backup took close to 1.5 hrs and now I have this drive plus the factory shipped SSD both as backups in case of any disaster. I too echo your thoughts to do a clean install but my point is if I download a Win 8.1 Pro ISO and use a USB drive to do a clean install, can I use the same Windows key that is shipped with my laptop on this retail version. If Yes, I would surely like to create partitions and do a clean install.

Please let me know if that is feasible as anyways I have the factory image backups plus my factory shipped SSD?

 

I don't like that it took so long to create the backup. This post (the same I linked earlier) explains why.

That said, you now have two ways to get back to factory, in case you want to sell the laptop or need Samsung service. Having two copies of anything you consider important is the cornerstone of data safety.

Performing a clean install on the new SSD is very feasible. Assuming you install the same version of Windows that came with the laptop, it should automatically pick up the Product Key stored in your BIOS. Still, I would use a tool such as RW Everything to extract it and write it down, before you swap in a blank disk.

Clean installing Win8.1 if you only have a Win8 Product Key (including for those whose computer came with Win8) requires some trickery. See this thread in the NBR Windows section for details.

I recommend anyone who is about to perform a clean install on a Win8.x-delivered computer to make sure they understand the basics of UEFI/GPT and how it differs from good old BIOS/MBR. This post has brief starters and links to some good Microsoft articles.

 

Assuming I want to go with a Clean Install on my 512 SSD, can I download the Win 8.1 Pro 64 bit ISO from the site (snipped link to download site) (do let me know if there is something better) and the key will be automatically imported from my BIOS and Windows will get activated?

Thanks a lot for your help..!!! I really appreciate

 

I don't know that specific site, but to my knowledge, there are NO legal 3rd party download sources for Win8.x ISOs. And the illegal (or "alternative") ones are not a valid topic on NBR, which has a zero-tolerance policy regarding piracy.

But there is a way you can download the ISO from Microsoft, based on your Product Key. Please follow the clean install guide I linked in my last post for details.

Edit:

I briefly looked at the download link you provided. While they make a good effort to make it look legit, I didn't want to take the risk of exposing NBR, so I had to delete it from your post. Again, please follow the procedure described in the clean install guide to download from Microsoft.

About the automatic activation: As I wrote in my last post, it will automatically pick up the Product Key from your BIOS if your computer came with Win8.1. But if it came with Win8, it is a different procedure. Again, please study that guide I linked.

 

I'm re-posting this to say that I went back over your links in detail and found one of the locations to disable Adaptive Brightness, and that turned out to be the reason only 2 of the four pre-set power plans (even after my tweaks) were permitting maximum brightness. So I'm good to go and I will be using the Samsung Optimized profile most of the time from now on. One of the many things you and John R enlightened me about was that these preset power plans have "hidden" settings that make them do insidious (eg, "High Performance") or beneficial (eg, "Samsung Optimized") things that make them more valuable than meets the eye.

I am beginning to feel more and more that we'd be better served if our devices did what the core OS sets them up to do, and all modifications tweaks be made with specific control panels that transparently change the way things will behave. The very idea that you have to change the BIOS, Samsung "Easy Settings," Samsung "Silent Mode," and multiple locations in Power Settings, just to get the darn screen backlight to behave in a normal way!

Again, thank you for your incalculable contributions to the user community. +1s all around!! :thumbsup::hi2:

 

Hey guys they are selling the 8gb 13 i5 model 128gb ssd refurb on ebay for 748 not a bad deal. Samsung 13 3" Ativ Book 9 Plus Laptop 8GB 128GB NP940X3G S03US 887276848891 | eBay

 

You first need to figure out which version of windows came with your AB9+. As I recall, the early editions came with W8 not W8.1. You also need to determine whether you have core (i.e. home version) or pro. If your AB9+ came with W8 core for instance and you want to install W8.1, you would use the W8.1 core generic key and then activate with your W8 key.

This guide is particularly useful (it includes both the core and pro generic keys):

Solved Reset Win 8.1 Update 1 > Win 8 Upgrade Product Key & ISO

This is the workaround to get the W8.1 iso (I assume it will download the proper core/pro version but it is not the same as the all in one MSDN iso. I think it bakes in your product key but you still have to use the generic key IIRC):

How to download and install the Windows 8.1 ISO -- using a Windows 8 or 8.1 key

Nevermind. I forgot, this trick ONLY works if you have an actual product key, not an OEM bios key. You will have to obtain an MSDN iso image somehow.

If you use windows system images, I have found it does not work well under gpt. I also found the 100MB system reserved partition will create "shadow copy" errors after a few images, so I delete the primary partition and expand the system reserved partition to whatever size I want C: to be.

Sorry, if this all sounds like too much, maybe it is better to go the samsung restore, W8.1 update route.

 

I was not aware of that, thank you for pointing it out. I could have sworn some of the many guides about this that I've seen (here on NBR and elsewhere) covered Win8 delivered models as well, using their embedded Product Keys. I used the procedure myself to download a Win8.1 ISO, but I used a Win8 upgrade key from Microsoft.

@kauban: I guess that means you have to go factory restore, then go the update route.

 

That is the situation as I'm aware (I just tried and failed with a W8 core embedded key). Upgrade (e.g. the original $15 W7 or $40 W8 pro offers) keys and actual product keys are the only ones that I know work. I also had problems using that iso made from one product key with another key, maybe that's just me. This is just asinine on MS' part. Essentially there is NO legal method to reinstall W8 without a technet subscription as you cannot obtain the media without resorting to back channels. Their argument is "just use the reset/refresh" options and upgrade from the windows store (which takes hours). But what if I need to move to a new hard drive? I guess I should retract my dismissal of recovery, because that's the only way a normal user could do it.

Clearly it's all a scam so that people will buy new computers after W8 gets hosed, even though their hardware is perfectly capable of running a clean OS.

 

Nice catch! I can't decide if this reflects Samsung's expected exit from market, dramatically lowering mkt values of existing notebooks or just a fluke of a volume purchase (thry haf 13 to sell, have 5 left) of returned items from a retailer in desperate need of cash.

Note pros and cons to this deal/seller:

Pros: high rating and 30 day 100% refund

Con: you can't contact the seller to ask questions! When you try to you get a response that says, in essence : "this seller is too busy to respond to any questions! I've never seen thid on eBay and am chagrined to see its even permitted, even if the liberal refund policy mitigates the risk. Sends up red flags though.

All in all, if I was in the market for this, ot any ultrabook, I'd buy it in a heartbeat and check it out very carefully.

In fact, I'm tempted to buy their remaining inventory and make a frw bucks flipping them - but I've never been able to get comfortable with that perfectly legal and doubtfully unethical practice; just feels sleazy (of course, could always buy one and sell mine for a $400 profit, but 5 x $250, $1,250, is just far more motivating )

I'm really curious as to what you all think about that.

 

I am looking to place the order for a 512 GBB SSD - Crucial 550 (CT512M550SSD4) to upgrade for my ATIV Book 9 Plus. As I read somewhere there were few users claiming that battery life got reduced in ideal state as the Crucial consumes more power in ideal state.

Are users still experiencing the same issue or it is worthed to wait till Samsung releases a retail 512 version?

 

An alternative is the Transcend TS512GMTS800.

Go back up this thread to jamesg's post of 9th July 2014 and then read the next page or two.

John