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

Here's the thing, I think converting the disk into MBR is counter-productive since my disk is already in MBR partition. Also, I have followed all your steps in your guide when installing the drivers, even up to installing the latest Easy settings 2.0.0.55. If I reformat again, it will be like trying to fix a problem that is not even known yet. Maybe I'll just restart the computer and log the startup sequence using msconfig boot log.

Also just to confirm, ExpressCache is only for the older 2013 chronos right?

UPDATE: Seems like there were no problems with drivers, all the drivers loaded up fine. However, the startup sequence with the boot log enabled oddly was decently quick, around a minute...
UPDATE: Oh I see what you mean, you think that my Win 7 installation might be running under a protective MBR partition? Is there a way to accurately check what partition I have just to make sure I'm not running protective MBR?
UPDATE: (so sorry for the many updates, my brain is out whack today ) I just remembered when I was configuring the partitions for windows 7, I tried to install windows 7 on the partitions that came with windows 8, and the installer gave out an error that it could not install windows 7 on a GPT partition. So i deleted all the windows 8 partitions and I could then install windows 7 with no errors. Doesn't that mean my drive is fully running MBR? Again, so sorry for all the updates, hope I'm not troubling you too much Dannemand!

 

Great about you already having installed it that way. I am sorry I kept pushing that, I just wanted to make sure.

And correct, don't install ExpressCache, it's only for older Series 7 and some Series 5.

And yes, you got it, that was my concern whether Win7 was installed (and is still running) through the Protective MBR, and the disk was never actually re-partitioned as MBR. In theory that shouldn't be possibly (the Protective MBR should make it look like a big unknown partition). And with your latest report, I no longer think this is the issue. It was always a long shot anyway, just a hunch.

Keep focusing on the drivers and boot sequence. Install Settings (if you haven't already). Those graphics drivers would be a suspect as well (which you mentioned originally). Also try with and without Intel Rapid Storage, different users always gave mixed reports on that.

 

Yah I will look into Intel's Rapid storage. I guess the most sure-fire way of having a boot time under a minute is to use an SSD, but its a very expensive sure-fire way lol. There's something in me that feels like Samsung really didn't optimize having two graphics card in a system well, so its kinda still unstable. What do you think?

 

Well, we have to remember your model was made for Win8, and by all reports here does it work very smoothly with that -- though the AMD drivers have been slow in coming. But I don't see why it shouldn't run smoothly with Win7 as well.

On my own (older) NP700Z3A I have to say everything works like a charm, both in Win7 and Win8. Pretty fast too. It has discrete AMD GPU as well -- and there were problems with graphics switching when the model first came out, until they got the drivers fixed. Mine is only AMD 6490M, and not a race horse like yours. But in all the test I have done (including gaming tests) it works as intended. After having had it a year (and adding Win8 alongside Win7) this laptop is still running smooth as butter; and its size and features are perfect for my use. My only gripe is battery capacity dropped a bit (6.8% wear).

I am a purist about keeping it clean, and I constantly make image backups before any system changes. If I ever have a problem that doesn't resolve quickly (and it happens) I'll restore a backup instead of spending time trying to solve it. There are a million ways a Windows installation can become messed up or corrupted, and only a few ways for it to be perfect. Better save those perfect ones when you see them!

 

Confirmed here too. It still auto adjusts but it seems smarter and my settings seem to stick.

 

90 is safe, but really not optimal and in the throttling range. Maybe try to lift the back of your laptop a bit if you didn' try that already.
What emperature is your cpu at then?

 

after i install the intel video driver with sw update i can no longer change the brightness with fn+f3. The laptop was slow from the start and 200gb are already occupied. What are the first step to do with this laptop? I have to install sw update... Then?

 

Anyone bothered installing the Windows 8.1 preview on these laptops yet?

 

I have seen a couple who have and then scramble for drivers and utilities. I am content with waiting. Yesterday I decided to go all in on the Windows 8 experience and uninstalled Start8 to force myself to get used to treating the start screen as a giant start menu with a few other useless apps thrown in. So far so good, actually. Otherwise, I am not burning with desire to sacrifice the stability and relatively hassle free use of my notebook for jumping on the beta train. My days of "hey - i'll try it" have long since passed.

 

Yes, it's not worth the effort - Windows 8.1 is nice (not actually that much different), but it breaks the laptop - see here for a full list of the problems you're likely to experience at the moment. Hopefully Samsung are scrambling to develop compatible drivers!!

I'd wait for driver improvements, if not the final 8.1 release

(God only knows why "Computer" has now become "This PC" in Windows 8.1)

 

Marketing weasels doing their re-branding thing. A pox on the bunch of them!

 

NP780Z5E here. I've been running the Win 8.1 Preview since day 1 and the laptop is still a fast, reliable daily driver. The only problems on that list that have affected me are the non functional fn keys for keyboard and screen brightness. There are other minor bugs and everything on that list is true, although I didn't realize it until just now. The changes are definitely nice, but they're not life changing. I would agree that it's not worth updating to 8.1 until it's finished.

 

Yeah now, it seems like the laptop is booting fine! It even boots under a minute now! Not sure what the heck happened lol. It just became really speedy now, even with the crappy 5400 rpm drive. Thanks Dannemand for your help!

 

my 870z5e is not really fast... what settings do you have? i have only unistalled intellmemory and installed sw update,video driver,wireless driver. However sometimes i have to wait event to open the browser...
My fn+f3/f2 command don't work but i can close the cover without any problem....

have you done a clean install? what driver should i install after this kind of installation? :S

 

Has anybody been able to use an external Blu Ray player to play movies on their NP780Z5e?
I have installed the newest AMD driver and games play well.
I have a new LG USB 3.0 External Blu Ray ROM which has worked fine for regular DVDs, reading disks, installing software and games but when I recently tried to play a Blu Ray movie, I get a message from my Cyberlink PowerDVD that says "Playback stopped because your graphics card driver is incompatible". Could this be that the driver is truly incompatible by not having what is needed to play Blu Rays or maybe PowerDVD is only seeing the Intel Graphics? If so shouldnt the Intel have what it takes to play a Blu Ray?
Or do I have to continue to wait for drivers? I would reasonably expect to be able to play Blu Rays on this machine.

 

Sorry, I've been away from my PC most of the day. I see you got your new laptop. Congratulations! I am sure it will be working fine once you have it set up correctly.

1) As I described in my response to you here, I do not recommend a new clean install of Win8 except for users who really, truly know what they're doing. Because of UEFI/GPT it is not as simple as it was in the good old days of XP and Win7. Check this post to understand what's involved with a clean install on Win8-delivered Samsung PCs.

Instead, I recommend you use Win8's Refresh feature followed by installing JUST the necessary drivers using SW Update (and a few installed manually). This should give you a smooth Windows. I described all that in great details in my response to you here from just a few days ago. Please study that post and follow the links I include in it.

2) Adaptive Brightness must be disabled in order to manually control brightness with Fn-F2/F3. Check this post for details.

I want to help you, I think you know that, and I spend a lot of time answering questions on this forum (not just in this thread). But I cannot rewrite the same answers over and over (yet often I still do ); that's why many of my posts contain links to previous answers to the same question. Please take the time to follow those links and read the answers, so we don't clutter the threads unnecessarily.

And don't worry, we'll get your new PC running well

 

I see you often suggest the Refresh way, but when I searched for it some weeks ago I had understood that it leaves you with the same bloatware of the factory image, and that the only difference from the "Reset" is that "Refresh" doesn't touch your data while "Reset" deletes them. Is it false then?

Sent from HTC HD2 with Tapatalk

 

I certainly HOPE that is not the case, because I have indeed been posting that advice many times!

I only learned about the Refresh feature after a member pointed it out in one of these 2013 Chronos threads a few months ago, and described it as providing an alternative to clean install. I was looking for that post just now, both using Search Thread and Google, but unable to find it. I'll keep looking. I DID find the posts and web articles which I think you found as well.

My own Sammy was delivered with Win7, and I clean installed Win8 from a DVD. When I run Refresh, it asks for the DVD and cleans everything out (except Metro Apps). Based on the previous reports here, I expect that it does the same on the Win8 pre-installed models, but pulling files from the Recovery instead of the DVD.

If it turns out that it does NOT work that way on the WIn8 pre-installed models, I would certainly like that feedback from some of those who used it, so I can stop recommending it.

 

I have used both Refresh and Reset, albeit neither on my Chronos. Both returned the respective computers to "factory" conditions - i.e. bloatware is reinstalled if you uninstalled any.

With Reset you are given the option to securely erase your PC (some form of multiple pass drive wiping). This took upwards of 4 hours on a HP AIO with a 1 TB HDD. Any files or programs you have saved / installed on the Windows partition will be gone after a Reset.

Refresh also sets you back to a factory fresh state, but any files in your Documents folder remain afterwards. Any desktop programs you installed prior to the refresh, are uninstalled as well. However you are given a nice HTML file on your desktop listing all the uninstalled programs. I don't know if this is also true of Modern apps. I had only installed three desktop programs and no (additional) Modern apps. Refresh took about twenty minutes on a Lenovo tablet,

--L.

 

Anybody thinks it'll be worthwhile spending $130+ changing the stock HDD to the Seagate SSHD Hybird SATA3 1TB??

 

That drive is 9.5mm thick - I don't think it will fit in the Chronos/Ativ book, you need a drive around 8mm if I remember correctly.

 

Thank you both for the interest. Can anyone with a 2013 Chronos or ATIV Book 8 try this please?

Sent from HTC HD2 with Tapatalk

 

So if it's true that refresh doesn't delete bloatware the question is: how to get a clean W8 with all Samsung recovery partitions?

 

I have done both on my chronos. Both reinstall all bloat. Refresh, as said, keeps all your personal files and some settings (not programs) and keeps metro apps while it reinstalls windows and bloat. It takes about 3 minutes. Reset completely wipes everything and reinstalls windows and bloat. After it reboots your laptop, it is the exact same as you powered it on for the first time. This takes about 3 hours or even more.

 

Oh...... Okay......

Any other drives to recommend?

 

i'm waiting for stock for Crucial 960GB SSD M500 7mm CT960M500SSD1 - 960GB, 2.5-inch Solid State Drive , from Crucial.com for my Samsung Ativ Book 8

 

is it normal?
the third colum goes from 0 to 100% continuously..


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thank you very much for the help.
2 i solve the problem installing settings. now fn works correctly..
3 when i do a Bootable Factory Image backup in the usb should i active also the option in the recovery(create bootable disk)??
4 can you suggest me the way to do some test to the pc to make sure it is all ok before i replace the hdd with ssd? sometimes the fan noise worries me
5 is it normal 1min30sec to get to the start screen after i turn on the power and 30 sec to full load the desktop ?

 

Anyone experince this issue. I decided to use Samsung Recovery to re-create the factory image copy to my same 32GB A-RAM USB3 drive (same drive used for the 1st successful attempted factory image copy and creating boot disk).

But 2nd attempt at making a factory image copy + create boot disk on the USB3 drive, is so slow, it's stuck at Creating book disk forever ?

edit: hmm looks like some kind of windows update happened, as rebooting the system has me at the 'Configuring Windows features' 15% complete stage for along time now - seems stuck here and no progress at all

edit2: hmm how you meant to reboot from configuring windows feature stuck stage ? i hit power button it turned off, hitting power button again has me straight at configuring windows feature 15% complete stage again ?

edi3: ah it seems to have progressed to 16% after 5 mins.. must be a huge update of some sort but i don't have windows update set to install automatically, only set to notify of new update ?

Thinking back only windows settings i have changed in last windows session were

1. set to show hidden file system and system files
2. set explorer to launch in separate process and show show full path address

 

Okay, I just went to the store where I bought my 32GB SanDisk thumb drive. At first they didn't want to change my thumb drive because they said it is functioning properly (can transfer files onto it) and they smirked at me and said it is not possible to boot from thumb drive (this is the point where I got mad at the sales guy for saying nonsense, lost my temper a little bit ang gave him a lecturing lol). I wanted to exchange my thumb drive with another brand, but they only have SanDisk, so they changed it to a new one.I brought my laptop with me, and tried to create a boot disk using the new thumb drive on the store, but I still got the error message. They tried using the thumb drive on the 770 in display, and they also received the same error message (unable to create boot disk), and their faces were like "I told you so". So instead of the exchanged, I insisted for a refund of my thumb drive, and they returned me my money.

I went to the next shop, bought a 32GB Sony thumb drive, tried it on my 770, and voila, it worked - no errors whatsoever. I returned to the other store to rub it on the sales guy's faces that it really is the SanDisk thumb drive I bought from them that has the issue.

So for those who wanted to copy their recovery on a thumb drive, avoid the 32GB SanDisk Cruzer Switch thumb drive. I don't know what it is in the thumb drive but it doesn't work when trying to create a boot disk.

 

Hi. I just created mine earlier. It took maybe 5min at the "Creating boot disk" stage when I did mine, then the copying of files were around 35min. Same for that update you mentioned, I had that last night, it took a while before it moved from 15%, but it did moved and finished after a bit of waiting. Patience. :thumbsup:

 

Haha I'm glad you worked it all out and showed that ignorant salesperson. What did he say back when you showed him the working Sandisk?

 

Thanks A LOT for doing this, and thanks a lot for sharing it. I think this is very valuable information: We have had a handful of members who reported problems with slowness or failures creating bootable factory image backups on their USB sticks. We suspected that a weak USB stick might be the cause, but it was never quite certain that that was really the case. And some members even concluded that it was a fundamental flaw in the backup feature of SRS6 (Samsung Recovery Solution 6).

It would seem that SRS is just very sensitive to the quality of the USB flash memory: Presumably it does a lot of verifying as it writes the backup. Maybe SRS tries to verify immediately after writing each sector, which works OK on sticks with no write errors, but on sticks with some errors, the stick needs a little time after each write to fix it (retrying the write or relocating the data). So if you just copy a file in Windows, the stick will eventually get it right, and everything sems to work. But if SRS makes a read immediately after each write to verify, it keeps getting errors and will retry on its own. Of course this is complete speculation on my part

But for whatever reason, the stick makes a big difference. Thanks again for sharing that!

@eva2000 and anybody else who had problems with slowness or failures creating their USB backups: Take note of zirdaj's report and try getting another USB stick. Admittedly, 32GB sticks are still too expensive to just buy and discard. If you try to exchange it or return it at the store, it is useful to have a solid story like zirdaj's to back up your claim.

Edit: Something else: I highly recommend you make those USB stick backups from Recovery (F4 boot) and not from the Recovery software in Windows. With all the background processes running in Windows (such as that unsolicited Windows Update reported by eva2000), there are just too many things that can mess it up.

 

Thank you for sharing that information.

So Refresh on the 2013 models (and presumably all Win8-delivered models) does NOT strip Samsung bloat. And my advice to use it as an easier and safer alternative to clean install will NOT have the desired effect.

Talk about passing wrong advice! Major mea culpa here on my part

As I am sure you all realize, I try to gather information posted here over time and pass it on when the same questions are asked again later. Since I and other mods read all posts coming through, we have this opportunity to help with questions that otherwise require reading an entire thread -- or several threads.

As much as I try to test and reproduce things before posting, I am always limited by the fact that I only have my own laptop on which to test it (an older Sandy Bridge NP700Z3A). So if anybody ever finds my advice (or anybody's advice) to conflict with your own experiences, please don't ever hold back: Just post it right away -- before my wrong advice is repeated further.

Now, as zooster asks, what is the alternative? There are only two, as far as I can see:

1) Bloatware cleanout: I remember that prantank has some experience with this, which he posted about previously. And I've been linking to this post in which I list the bloat that came with my Sammy and comment on which to keep and which to lose (hint: lose most of it ). I believe much of it is still the same on later models, although there is bound to be new items as well. If someone can make a similar post describing bloat items with the more recent models, that would be very useful.

2) Clean install: For those who have access to Win8 install media, this is a real option. As discussed in other posts, MSDN/TechNet subscribers can download Win8 ISOs from here; and students (with a valid ID) can get it from Microsoft Dreamspart. For others, getting clean Win8 install media is a real barrier. (Please note that we cannot discuss illegal Win8 downloads on this forum.)

If you do have clean Win8 install media, it is certainly possibly to clean install without losing Recovery partitions, as long as you stay in UEFI mode and keep your HDD GPT partitioned. You need to disable SecureBoot in BIOS, otherwise you cannot even boot USB or DVD.

We have several Win8 install guides here, but most of them assume you're willing to disable UEFI, such as SGMD1's guide (linked below). That is fine if you're installing on a new SSD (and are willing to forgo UEFI's benefits); but on an existing HDD it will wipe your disk and lose your Recovery partitions.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...stall-windows-8-samsung-series-9-laptops.html

I'll try and collect some useful links and post updated advice.

But for now, if you'll excuse me, I have some old posts about Win8 Refresh which I need to update

 

In light of what I just posted above, I think your earlier conclusion to make a clean install is much more relevant and accurate -- ASSUMING you have clean Win8 install media and previous Windows installation experience. OTHERWISE I just recommend cleaning out bloat, using this post as guide.

Of course only make this clean install AFTER swapping in the SSD. Your Win8 install media must match the version of Win8 on your laptop (Pro vs non-Pro) in order to pick up the Product Key in BIOS. Otherwise you will need a Product Key matching that install media.

In other words:

1) Make sure the hardware is all right as per my previous responses (LCD, touchpad, ports etc). I am sorry I don't have further tips on that, maybe others do. If anything seems wrong or not working correctly, definitely contact Samsung or the store BEFORE opening up the laptop -- mostly so you don't waste your own time.

2) Make a bootable factory image backup on USB as generally recommended (check the Create Bootable option). Make this backup from F4 boot, not from within Windows. If you have Win8 install media and intend to perform a clean install on the SSD (keeping the original HDD safe) then this backup is merely an extra precaution. It will allow you to restore factory Win8 to the internal disk anytime you like.

3) Swap in the SSD. Keep the original HDD safe and avoid losing its Recovery partitions -- particularly if you did NOT make a USB backup under step (2).

4) Perform the clean install. Change your BIOS settings as I previously posted to you here before booting your Win8 install media. Or use SGMD1's Win8 install guide here if you don't mind leaving UEFI behind.

5) Install the drivers listed in this post, most of them using SW Update, a few of them manually.

6) Done.

This is far from complete or detailed, but I have so much work I need to catch up on today. I hope this will get you going.

 

Great info. This should be linked from the first post so everyone can find it easily.

 

cheers yes, eventually that windows feature update moved off 15-16% and eventually completed. And subsequent reboots were fine as was factory image export to usb drive - 32GB A-RAM USB3.0 drive from Samsung Recovery within win8.

Ah thanks for the tip, will try from F4 boot instead. Shame Recovery backup is so slow.

Example from Recovery within Win 8

• factory image export to 32GB A-RAM USB3 @11-14MB/s
• factory image export to 64GB Sandisk CZ80 Extreme @11-14MB/s
• OS image backup to 32GB A-RAM USB3 @28-32MB/s
• OS image backup to 64GB Sandisk CZ80 Extreme @30-34MB/s
• OS image backup to 1TB Hitachi 5K1000 5400RPM in ezSAVE ISO M3 USB3 enclosure @77-78MB/s

Both 32GB A-RAM USB3 and 64GB Sandisk CZ80 USB3 drives are very fast, see attached crystaldiskmark benchmarks.



Could be related to file sizes and how different USB drives deal with them ?

 

Wow thank you again! I THIng i canrtunderstand is why i have to change secureboot into csm+uefi. I cant leave it on enabled or only uefi. the system was on uefi the first time...

 

Hey guys,

another question: Is it possible to fix this accursed keyboard backlight? It is so annoying, it turns on even when turned off and when it turns on it stays 30 sec, goes off and one second later it is on again - forever. Display goes black, keyboard backlight is still on, it's so useful.

I thought i read something of a modified BIOS here but i can't find the post again
Can you help me out once more?

Thanks.

 

Depends on your budget/requirements. I opted for the Samsung 840Pro 256GB SSD (other sizes are also available), plus an external drive.

Top tip: get an SSD and an external enclosure and use the drive that came with the machine as an external drive!!

 

Just update to the latest BIOS (ver P04ABU) and at least some of the problems will go away!

 

Good question! The reason you need to temporarily change those BIOS settings is because you may not be able to boot your Win8 install media otherwise. At the very least do you need to disable SecureBoot and Fast Boot/Fast BIOS. You can try and leave OS Mode Selection on UEFI and see if it works.

In any case can you change it back after your new Windows installation is running properly.

Oh one other thing: You may have to convert your SSD to GPT if you want an UEFI install - I don't think Setup does that automatically. I'll post the commands when I get back to my PC.

Otherwise use SGMD1's guide and install without UEFI. A lot simpler anyway

 

Good to know there is another update but it doesn't appear in my SW Update, i have P03ABU installed.
Are the updates coming for all countries at the same time or are they shifted? I'm from Germany and you're from UK.

And now i see you have the 780Z5E but i have the 770Z5E.
Is there any other difference than the graphics chip or do they have the same BIOS?

Thanks so far.

Edit: Oh, nevermind. SW Update hadn't updated it's database since 7th June...for whatever reason. Got the BIOS Update and a new Wlan driver which i expected aswell, as my connection simply didn't want to connect anymore sometimes. I hope the problems are gone then. Thanks again anyway.

Edit2: Yea, that definitely helps, finally. If it turns off it stays off, if i turn it off it stays off. If i now could get a current graphics driver i'd be completely happy

 

Ok but what is the diffent and so what is the best?

 

You in Brisbane? I'm in Perth.......

Are you getting the 960GB M500 in Australia? How much are you getting it for?

Lowest price gathered from staticice.com.au is AU$675.......

Tossing between this and the Samsung 840 Pro 512GB @ AU$499....

 

If you want the simplest and easiest installation, just follow SGMD1's guide and disable UEFI. You may give up a little bit of boot speed, and SecureBoot which protects against some types of virus. Those are the main benefits for most users. I don't use UEFI myself, but I might if I had a model like yours.

One potential issue with disabling UEFI recently surfaced in another thread: The Adaptive Brightness setting in the UEFI firmware settings screen cannot be accessed after installing Windows with UEFI disabled. This *may* explain why some users have difficulty disabling or enabling Adaptive Brightness. But we don't know for sure yet if having access to the UEFI firmware settings makes a difference in those cases. I'm only mentioning it so you're aware of it.

 

I just pulled the trigger on a Samsung ATIV book 8 from BestBuy. I should be getting it next week. My current Asus laptop is just about worn out and constantly coming up with more issues. I was holding out for a Haswell upgrade but after doing weeks of research decided this would meet my needs. Got tired of waiting on new products to show up on the various websites. Many times a great configuration was destroyed with a sub-par TN panel. I have ordered a 512GB 840 pro SSD and 8GB memory upgrade to improve the performance. The LCD panel, battey life and quad core processor with discrete graphics card are what really sold me on this unit. I've had many laptops over the years but this will be my first Samsung. I hope it's a smart choice. I've been working in IT for the last 30 years so I tend to be cautious when jumping into new products.

 

Thank you for this, I didn't understand that after the installation we can change back from "UEFI and CSM" to UEFI. Besides, I thought that secure boot has to stay disabled after the clean install, which now I believe it's wrong, isn't it?

Sent from HTC HD2 with Tapatalk

 

im installing windows from the recovery usb with secureboot enabled in my ssd samsung pro! I think is the best way. 16gb becomes 34gb in 11 min. only 180gb left in my ssd 256gb -_-. Do i have to change some settings to let the laptop know it has a ssd? Nb before it starts to open the recovery from the usb it restarts 3 times and many minutes to format the ssd!

 

@Dannemand
It's going to take approximately 12 years until I've been able to rep every post you earn it for. And don't worry about the refresh suggestion. It takes about 5min. to remove the bloatware once you know what to remove. I actually really like refresh, it also makes sure SW update, settings (for fn keys) and all the drivers are installed at once, keeping your files and settings while removing your software issues. Much easier and more convenient than a fresh install if you ask me. I'm definitely going to do a fresh install when I finally have my SSD though. Thank you for that guide, I'll put it in post #1.

I've been working a lot lately and haven't had time but I really want to give unlocking the BIOS another shot. It'd be really cool to bring BLE to ativ book 8 users if they'd like it for example.

I'm going to order an SSD next week. Anything else I should consider than the samsung 840 500gb? Any arguments against it?