2013 Series 7 chronos / Ativ Book 8 15" owner's lounge (NP770Z5E / NP780Z5E / NP870Z5E / NP880Z5E)

Did a little research; I believe the part number is BA81-18324A. Am I going to have to take the cover off to replace this part? Can someone with an attached flap figure that out. Or someone who happens to have their case apart.

Thanks..

 

Hi All,

I've recently encountered a problem that I don't believe has been discussed yet.

For some reason, my sound will cut out and I'll have to restart the laptop to get it back on. This has been going on for the last three or four days or so.

I've checked and I'm up to date on my drivers according to SW update. I'm running Windows 8 using the Best Buy model of this laptop. It's just about a year old now. It's completely stock, save the 840 EVO SSD I installed shortly after buying it.

Any thoughts on tests I can run to figure this out? Or perhaps has this been discussed and my simply forum search didn't pull up the right thread?

Any help is much appreciated.

 

When does it happen? I had this problem myself, and it turned out that the cause was a Windows Update (KB2962407). Uninstalling it solved the problem.

 

Same problem for me , your solution is working very well !
thanks a lot guy !

 

Hi guys, the link for AMD 14.4 drivers from the first post is broken.

I downloaded mine from this link:

http://www2.ati.com/drivers/mobile/14-4-mobility-win7-win8-win8.1-64-dd-ccc-whql.exe

(I selected Windows 8.1 64 bit as OS)

 

Thanks for your quick reply.

It's only been happening for a few days, not exactly sure when I first noticed it. I checked and that was the most recent windows update installed, on 11 July, so the timing would appear to match pretty well. I've uninstalled it and we shall see. Unfortunately, it was never an every time sort of thing, so I won't know for a bit if it actually worked. Since I'm at work, I'm not going to bother cycling the power on and off a bunch of time to be sure. I should know by this evening though as it happens at least once a day.

Fingers-crossed!

 

Yeah, don't spend too much time trying to reproduce it, It was quite random for me too...

 

HI folks i got any problems

for reasons, my notebook had problems for getting the window 8.1 update (nothing happened when i click the app store, and even wsreset.exe wont help).

So I am considering formatting/refresh/reset my notebook.

However, it came to me there are two options for doing that.

1st, The Microsoft traditional way for formatting the notebook

2nd, Samsung's Recovery program to the state when i first bought the notebook.

let me know

Merged

Also, I was trying to go to my pc setting, but this thing popped up.

Anyone of you know how to fix it so i could go to pc setting again.

The dialog error msg was in chinese but u could understanding the coding.

 

Assuming you are knowledgeable on the subject of UEFI and GPT (otherwise start here) you can definitely format and clean install. There are some gotchas and precautions (see here). Follow member Obyboby's excellent guide, which is copied in the opening post of this thread.

Otherwise, using Samsung Recovery Solution (F4) to perform a factory restore, is a safe way to get back to a working computer, then try the update again. You want to study our Win8.1 update thread, including the opening post and scanning the last 10 pages or so.

Member alfling recently reported how he was unable to get Brightness adjustment to work despite much effort, until he performed a clean install (see here).

Don't worry about that if you are going to do a clean install: Whatever problems you have now will be gone, and you will have fresh new problems to work on

Otherwise I suggest uninstalling Settings (using Programs and Features control panel), reboot, then re-installing Settings, then reboot and login TWICE (seriously), each time giving it a few minutes to complete background installations. See this post for tips on finding the latest version of Settings and what to do after you re-install it.

 

Formatting/Refreshing is the least I would do since I need to backup almost everything.

But I really appreciate all your typing.

Maybe I will refresh when I aint too busy with work.

 

Understood. My answers are often lengthy, both because I cannot help myself, and because I always write with the assumption that others will see them, beyond just the original questioner -- including users coming here from a Google search.

Instead of Windows' Refresh, I would probably do a factory restore from SRS in that case. There is a Maintain user data option, but I would still make backups before doing any of these procedures.

 

What does that Maintain user data do anyway?

 

It maintains your current data, even as it restores the factory installation (or backup). Samsung's guide ( here) doesn't give much info, but I recall users reporting it worked well.

 

Okay, let said I wanted to know the differences with the Recovery from Samsung and the window's default reset/refresh functions.
I knew the samsung recovery saved all your window 8 setting, and also a copy of your window 8

but if i use the window default, would it delete a copy of my window 8 (from the pc setting)?

Also, does the recovery option in samsung is more like a refersh, reset or just a system restore back to its out of the box condition?

 

Hi has anyone found a permanent solution for the 100% disk usage (spinning drive) that slows the computer down even immediately after start-up? Also a certain heat problem that makes the fans keep running and very noisy?
Will greatly appreciate your help. I just updated to Windows 8.1. I also downloaded all Windows updates including all the optional ones!!

Thanks

 

Use the Processes Task Manager to find out what it is causing the 100% disk usage (I would start by looking at the CPU usage). It might be a virus scan.

John

 

Samsung Recovery does it's own thing, basically restoring to factory (or whichever backup you choose), except it can optionally maintain your data. It existed before Microsoft added Refresh/Reset features to Win8.

As for the difference between those two features, check pranktank's posts here and here.

 

thanks, I was to do a recovery, but does the maintain user data keeps everything? Like personal files as well?

 

Another Question:

I was trying to update my notebook to 8.1. However, a error message showed up.

Anybody knew how to fix that?

Thanks.

 

That's the idea. I have not tried it myself, but others have reported it to work well.

Personally I would never do a major procedure like this without making a data backup first; neither would I recommend it to others. Doesn't matter if it's Factory restore, Refresh, Reset, resizing partitions, etc: Even if it's designed to preserve data, it takes only the smallest mistake or glitch during such an operation for all data to be lost.

 

Did you search for error code 0x80070004?

See This or this to start with, but there are others.

John

 

Hey guys,

I just installed a 1TB Samsung 840 evo to my 1 year old (roughly) ativ book 8. Everything is working amazingly and its sooo much faster than the stock HDD. One question:

I can't enable rapid mode... I hit enable, then ok on the prompt. Then some other dialog box comes up saying windows installer with some text inside, I hit ok. It does its thing but it says 'rapid mode enable failure'. Anyone know a solution?

Cheers

Edit - Oh and I did a backup of the factory windows to USB via samsung recovery (boot and hit f4 etc) and restored it to the new ssd. So its basically at factory settings

 

Try uninstalling the Intel Rapid Storage driver.

I found that with my mSATA EVO IRST interfered with the Samsung SSD Magician interrogating the SSD so it is my first suspect for your problem. I would also note that Rapid Mode uses a chunk of RAM as a cache. However, if you have more than 8GB RAM then you may be able to spare the space that it uses. I have only 8GB and decided to do without Rapid Mode.

John

 

Okay so this may be a rookie question, but I want to install an SSD in my np780z5e-s01ub and I am unsure which guide to follow. The OP has two guides: 1) How to install an SSD, and 2) USB Recovery backup and re-imaging an SSD.

Here are my goals:
1) Installation of a 256GB EVO Pro with a fresh version of Windows 8.1 (will use SW Update to install all necessary drivers)
2) Use the old 1TB HDD in an enclosure as a external drive
3) Would like keep the recoveries off the smaller SSD, opting to have them on USB and/or the 1TB HDD

To achieve these goals, which guide should I follow? Are there any other step I must take?

Thanks for the responses ahead of time. I have been reading the forums all day, there are just so many pages of information to sort through.

 

The search function doesn't seem to work, so I'll ask this directly (sorry if it's already posted):

Im thinking in using two monitors with this notebook (and have the notebook closed all the time) I bought 2 displays that only have hdmi, so I'm using the hdmi port, and I need to transform the vga port into HDMI.

The question is, the VGA port is digital? So i can purchase a vga to hdmi cable. If the output is only analog, then I have to buy a more expensive adapter.

 

Hello feterovicb, welcome to NBR.

The Search function should work, I use it all the time, including just now. Try and clear your browser's cache, possibly it's cookies too. If it still doesn't work after that, then please post a report with specifics in the section linked below, so that Admin can get it fixed.

Site Suggestions, Help and Announcements

Alternatively, you can use Google searches such as site:notebookreview.com/samsung external monitor mini-vga to search specifically in the NBR Samsung section.

Unfortunately Samsung only provides one digital port on most of their laptops (except a few older 17 inch models which also have DisplayPort).

The Mini-VGA port is analog, and requires a proprietary adapter (model AA-AV2N12B. It normally costs $40, but for owners who live in USA, I just noticed it is back on clearance for $15 at Best Buy).

If none of your monitors accept VGA input, I would recommend you get a USB3 display adapter to complement the HDMI port. You will get a much better signal than if you convert the VGA signal.

 

Hi GingerSmurfs. I missed this post earlier, sorry about that.

You basically want to follow member Obyboby's excellent clean install guide in this post (the same as copied in the OP). You can also check member alfling's posts around here when he did a clean install of Win8.1.

1) Use Obyboby's steps to create FAT32 formatted Win8.1 installation media on a USB stick. 4GB may suffice, 8GB for sure. This post has more information on why that is important.

2) Use Obyboby's steps to create a bootable factory image backup on a 32GB USB stick. The first two steps in this post (the same as in the OP) has some more info. If you also keep Recovery on the original HDD, you should be safe. And the USB will be handy so you don't have to swap the HDD back in if you decide to re-image the SDD.

3) Update to the latest BIOS. Download it with SW Update, but DON'T run the updater directly within SW Update. See this horror story including reference to a safer procedure. If you have upgraded your RAM to 16GB, you may encounter the RAM issue described earlier in this thread, where some types of RAM modules are not recognized by the updated BIOS. Unfortunately we do not have answers at this time. Make sure to bug Samsung if you should run into it.

4) If you want, you can download drivers with SW Update beforehand. If you store them on the HDD and put it into a USB enclosure right away, they will be readily available once your new installation is up and running. However, this is optional.

5) Only NOW swap in the SSD and put the HDD in the USB enclosure.

6) Follow the rest of Obyboby's guides (from step 3). After you have the new installation up and running, you can install drivers from the HDD (if you saved them beforehand). Otherwise you can let SW Update download and install them automatically. It will install them in the correct order and save some restarts -- and you can still disable the ones you don't want, in order to keep the installation trim.

7) Done. Make sure to thank Obyboby for the guide

 

Greetings! And thanks for the reply, but i guess I Didnt explain correctly.

I have an np770. So i have adn HDMI port that i use with an HDMI monitor, adn i also have an VGA port, that i need yo use with another HDMI monitor.can i buy an adapter firm male VGA to male HDMI?

Sorry for the grammer, im in a spanish smartphone.

 

I think understood what you meant, but maybe my answer wasn't clear

The mini-VGA port is analog. You would need BOTH the proprietary mini-VGA adapter AND an analog-to-digital VGA-to-HDMI converter, in order to use it with an HDMI-only monitor. The problem is that picture quality will be quite poor. That is why I recommend you get a USB3 Display Adapter instead, since the picture quality will be much better.

Or did you mean to say you have NP770 Z7E (17 inch)? If so, you also have a Mini DisplayPort (miniDP), which is a better port for external monitors. Even if your monitors only have HDMI, you should be able to use a simple miniDP-to-HDMI cable.

 

I have an NP770Z5E-s01CL (Chile). No mini VGA port, only VGA port.
Never used and adapter from usb yo hdmi.... Is it a proper Video Card, or it's just an adapter? I mean if I'll have to install drivers, set up stuff... or just plug and play?

Thanks for your info!

I'll be trying a VGA to HDMI adapter as well, managed to borrow one for some time, maybe I'll be lucky

 

Silly me, I forgot you have full size VGA port on this model, so you don't need the mini-VGA adapter. Just forget I mentioned that

But when you try with that VGA-to-HDMI adapter, you will probably still find it blurry compared to the all-digital HDMI port. The higher the resolution, the blurrier.

USB Display adapters do require drivers, but display quality will be better (same as HDMI). Only you can decide if the difference is worth it.

 

Also the monitors have RGB conector, and also the classic/old RCA conector. Do you have any comments on those? I'm a little reluctant to spend more money in an active VGA to HDMI converter...

 

Assuming you mean either BNC connectors (usually five, with separate horizontal and vertical sync) or RGB component (three connectors) those can indeed be used with VGA output and a straight cable (no adapter or converter required). And they will provide a slightly better signal than simple VGA. But it's still analog, which means you can expect some blurriness on high resolutions.

I suggest you borrow that VGA-to-HDMI converter you mentioned so you can try it out. And if you ask around, somebody is bound to have an old BNC or VGA component cable in a box in their attic, so you can try that too and compare the results.

 

anybody tried if 14.6 is working correctly now?

edit: or even 14.7?

 

14.6 is really not recommended, doesn't work well with cryengine games and other various bugs. I'll test 14.7 tonight, but since it's just the rc version of 14.6 beta I'm not expecting much

update:

AMD 14.7 rc now comes with a FREE wallhack and 50% less fps




How dare AMD call this a release candidate?

 

Have anybody find digital river 8.1 download link?

 

Cool, but I'll probably wait for the next drivers update which should include aimbot as well



I have recently installed this package "14-4-mobility-win7-win8-win8.1-64-dd-ccc-whql" hoping that it would fix my laptop's random freezing, but it didn't

I've started working 15 minutes ago and it has already freezed twice!! It's getting even worse. I don't even know how to investigate the problem.. It always happens while using AutoCAD. It can work fleuntly with no issues for days, and then bam, it will randomly freeze from time to time and I can only fix it by forcing a restart with the power button. OMG, this is so annoying


edit: I've just noticed that some AMD drivers are available through Windows Update, released on 23/07/2014. Has anyone tried them yet?



Googling around doesn't clear up much, someone says not to update display drivers from Windows Update, some others say that this WDDM 1.3 is newer than 14.4 and updating is safe... Well, let's see if anyone here has something to say

 

Hi,

I have some stupid questions for you.

I have updated my drivers to 14.4 and under device manager it shows I have a R9 card. Has anyone else seen this? I reverted back to the official drivers and it now shows 8800m. I thought it used to say 8870m. Can anyone with the 8870m GPU check for me what they have listed in device manager.

Thanks.

 

i have an 8870m and have upgraded to 14.4 too. Same situation, card is now recognized as an R9 M270X while before it was shown as 8800m series. Nothing to worry about

 

Thanks Obyboby, I thought as much but I couldn't remember what it used to say. I will try the 14.4 drivers again.

 

Lol 1337 hax0rs use amd beta drivers.

Do you remember the time when the freezes started occuring? Maybe you can use a restore point?

 

Which driver would you recommend?

 

Hi,

I'm going to replace the HDD for a SSD. Is the Crucial MX100 a good choice? What about the Samsung EVO? Has any advantages?

Thanks.

 

Hey, I've had the Series 7 Chronos for about a year now and have noticed it seems to overheat very easily. I recently downloaded Real Temp and found it often runs at >90 degrees celcius even when just doing simple web browsing. A week or so ago, I'm pretty sure it shut down due to overheating, and that was while watching a video on VLC (it wasn't even HD!). Is this likely to be a problem with the fan? I've tried propping up the back but it doesn't seem to make too much difference. Thanks for any advice.

 

i'm currently sitting on 14.4, works in terms of stability and showing objects, but still got the framerate drops. waiting for the 14.6. to finally work with all games :/

 

I recommend 14.4 whql at the moment.

When do these drops occur?

Have you tried blowing the dust out of the fans with compressed air or something like that? Do you use the laptop on a hard or soft surface?

 

drops may be kind of the wrong word. I just recognized that sometimes my games (i.e. dota2) run perfetly smooth, sometimes or more often they just dont. last week while travelling i played without a stand which i normally use to get better ventilation and had somehow better results. it feels as if the notebook does not see any need in using the dedicated graphics if the onboard gets it done without overheating.

 

Have you tried unplugging the laptop and plugging it back in in-game?

 

I'm not sure when the freeze started occuring, I'm pretty sure that it was happening on Windows 8 too, before I upgraded to win 8.1 (at that time I had SW Update drivers for my graphics card). Then, I installed Win 8.1 with SWUpdate drivers, but that did not fix the issue. Freeze still occurs with 14.4 WHQL too
Also, if the laptop freezes, after I force shut down and then power on again, applications like AutoCAD slow down their performance, and I can't find a solution for that, other than plugging the laptop in and out 3-4-5 times until the laptop starts working smoothly again. Pretty annoying!

 

i don't know that, never tried as it works. it's not underperforming in a way that makes gaming impossible, just annoys to know it could do way better. before upgrading to 14.4 it sometimes helped to just open the taskbar ccc and click on the activated graphics, which is just the onboard as i've never seen the raedeon in there. all in all this isn't the final solution and as i tried 14.6 everything went fluent, just missing some objects, is that maybe because of the mantle support that 14.6 includes as a difference to 14.4?