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

I am having difficulties creating a Factory Image on a 16gb USB stick. When I use Samsung Recovery software and choose the 'Factory image' option my target usb drive is not shown.
I have also tried another flash drive and have experienced the same problem. The drive has been formatted to FAT32. I have tried running the recovery software from a boot pressing F4 but still the drive is not shown when I try and use the Factory Image feature.

I have tried searching this thread but haven't found a solution.

 

I believe you need a minimum size of 32 GB. otherwise your USB drive won't even be detected. The factory image is a little over 16 GB in size.

 

Thanks.. have tried a 32gig microsd card and thats being recognized.

 

But can you enable the Create Boot Disk option for an SD card? And if so, can you boot it? I don't think you can. If you cannot boot it, the backup is no good to you -- since you most likely won't have Recovery on your disk when you need to restore this.

 

Thank you, Icomrade! I'll remember the tip. I won't be able to check it this time around, as I already did the Recover last night.

 

It's creating it now and I selected the create boot disk option. The microsd card is in a usb reader, so it's like a usb key.
I will test it out afterwards.

Fingers crossed it works.

 

Ok it works - it boots into the recovering software using a microsd card inserted into a usb card reader.

I will keep that for backup. However, I will probably just go with a clean Win8 install when I replace the harddrive.

 

Did the F4 Recover last night off the factory hdd, and just ran scf /scannow, and got the same error "Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them". What now??

 

Has anybody from Canada crossed the border to buy it in the US?
I could not find neither the "NP870Z5E" or "NP880Z5" here in Canada.
I'm wondering how much would I pay in tax to bring it over from the US.

Thanks!

 

If you get any of the Samsung SSD's, they will fit fine.

If you're after a little extra cost-saving, forgo the 840 Pro and just get the Samsung 840 - it's not quite as quick, but unless you are a power user, you're unlikely to really notice the difference - especially if you're used to HDD's.

Just checking quickly on amazon.com, the difference right now is $167 vs $230 for the 256gb version (the non-pro might be very slightly smaller, it quotes 250gb vs 256gb, but you're only losing a small amount of space, and saving over $60 - and if you've got 2TB external storage now, who cares about that extra 6gb?!).

 

There are a couple of recovery options, are you sure you picked the one to completely clear the PC and reinstall windows? It sounds likely that you've clicked the other option, which doesn't do a full re-build, and would probably leave most of the original files in place (I think you need to enable the one that says something about clearing the partitions or partition settings - and don't select to keep user data - back up your files first, though!).

EDIT: Just F4'd my machine to check exactly what you need to do, follow these steps:
Backup any files you need to keep (if any).
Restart PC, press F4 on reboot.
Choose the Recovery option.
Turn ON the option against "Partition Settings".
OK the popup box
If you just want a C drive, drag the slider all the way to the right, otherwise choose the size of the C and D drives you want.
DO NOT turn on "Maintain user data".
Click Recover.
Wait for the rebuild to complete.
Run windows update a couple of times to make sure your system has all the latest files it needs.

Hopefully this will work, I could be wrong, but try again and use this option. If you still have problems after that, you may have a problem with your drive. Post back and let us know how you get on.

 

Thanks, Damouk!
I'm still a little confused....
I did not turn the Partition Settings to on, as it said that "When the partition is set, all the data on all the drives will be deleted". Does this mean that the Recovery Partition and all the associated programs that came with the computer originally would be deleted also?? I am probably over-thinking this (I am engineer, which is a curse sometimes) but all I want to do is have a back-up that will enable me to re-create an exact copy of all of the partitions and oem software (yes, bloat and everything) to either a new drive, or the original drive. Can you (or someone) give me specific instructions to do that please?
By the way, the machine totally locked up on me this morning, and I could not get it to do anything, no matter what I did so I took it to BB for and exchange. I now have a new unit, and want to make sure I do everything right!

 

Interesting. Thank you for sharing your results with this. That sounds like an option for users who don't have (or want to buy) a 32GB stick, but happen to have a 32GB SD card. I would think that not all card readers are guaranteed to be bootable -- but I honestly don't know.

Strange. Did you do the full "re-partition and destructive restore" option in Recovery? Also, did you run SFC immediately after the restore or only after doing other updates?

I wonder if Samsung includes some patched files that don't match SFC's checksum listed. It would be great if others can post what SFC reports on their machines of this model series. My Win8 is a clean install, so it's not comparable.

If you experience any signs of corruption, it may be time to contact Samsung, as you could have a defect factory image. But otherwise, if it seems to run correctly, I think you should assume that the install is OK -- particularly if you did the full destructive restore.

We need to get you back to this PC being an enjoyable experience

Edit: Sorry, I was rushing and didn't read your subsequent discussion with damouk before posting. You got a new machine, problem solved, over & out!

 

Yes, you needed to turn partition settings to ON, this re-builds the machine EXACTLY as it was when you first turned it on, bloatware () and all !! If you want to store an off-disk "Factory image" of the drive too, follow the guide in post 1 of this thread (you will need a 32gb USB drive). I suspect all that had happened was a corruption on your Windows installation, probably due to the failed upgrade (I think it was you that mentioned that as the cause of the problem!). Fortunately, getting yourself a replacement has saved you having to do this. But you now know what to do next time you have a problem.

FWIW, I bought a copy of Windows 8 Pro, boxed, from a shop (you only get a card with a code on), as it was (a lot) cheaper than doing an online upgrade.

 

At least we had the same (and by the sounds of it correct) solution to the problem! Great minds think alike!

 

OK. Sorry that I asked about this so many times, but I just couldn't (and still can't) get my head around the fact that the partition switch says that all drives/data will be erased if it is on, because I didn't want to lose the recovery partition. I will take your word for this, however. Thanks for your patience, and for responding so quickly. I wouldn't be so paranoid if I files were distribued on CDs, like the goood old days. Just a few more questions before I start, please (sorry!)...

--I plan to do the USB factory image tonight (which I also did for the other machine). In addition to the image, I understand that there are other files that need to be backed up separately. Do you know what they are?

--Once the image is created on the USB drive, can the image files be copied over to another media in order to have an additional backup, or can I just make a second factory image from the hard drive?

--Should I do the factory image to the USB, and copying of the additional files before or after I do the cleanup and updates?

Thanks again!

 

1. There are no additional files you need - but if you've saved any work etc of your own to the PC, then of course you should back that up by copying it to another drive, USB stick or online (cloud) storage. I would not recommend using the USB you intend to use for a recovery stick for this data, keep it separate.

2. When creating your factory image USB, make sure to select to make it bootable. You can't easily copy this stick, but you can create as many copies as you want from the PC, its not a one-time-only deal like with some manufacturers.

3. The factory image is EXACTLY what the manufacturer created when they built the machine, installing updates etc wont make any difference, it's a point in time snapshot from the manufacturer and the factory image will always recover to that "fresh out of the box" installation.

In fact, if your replacement machine is the same as your original, you can probably keep that USB image, but I'd probably say to redo it now you've learnt a bit more about the process!

Remember, the USB does the same job as F4, it's just a fail-safe incase your drive dies or you swap out your drive for another one, you don't need to use the USB every time you recover.

Also, reference your first comment about the message saying all drives and partitions will be replaced - it's referring to your data only, it won't touch the recovery system (most people don't understand the technicalities of drives/partitions, so wouldn't associate the recovery side of the PC with being one of the partitions on the drive). Trust me, it's safe to go ahead and run this "FULL" recovery!

Hope you get there soon, you need to spend more time using this great bit of kit than worrying about backups and restores!

 

@InspectorBob:

1) Yes, good that you are doing a USB Factory Image backup of the new machine as well. If you check the Create Boot Disk option, it will copy the Recovery software as well, so that the USB stick contains everything needed to re-create your factory disk. The only other thing is the System Software which is also stored on you Recovery partition. You don't critically need to back that up since SW Update will pull the latest versions from the internet. But you can if you want. Recovery should have a System Software backup feature (at least SRS5 does).

2) The bootable Factory Image USB stick is your Win8 install media backup (so to speak). It contains visible files as well as hidden stuff in order to make it bootable. If you want to re-use the USB stick (understandably) I would make an image backup of the stick using Acronis, Paragon, Clonezilla (or similar) and save to an external drive. That way you preserve everything on the stick, including it's bootable qualities.

3) I would do the factory Image backup as the first thing.

Oh, and about the Partition switch in Recovery: It is going to re-create all Windows and Data partitions, but it will not "self-destruct" by wiping the Recovery Partitions. You're on the right track.

@damouk: You were way ahead of me there. I should have spent more time reading up before posting. Thanks for all your help around here!

Edit: LOL and you beat me to it again. I love that, I really do. Thanks again!

 

:hi2:lol 4,000 miles apart and on exactly the same wavelength, spooky!

 

Samsung has the Ativ Book 8 in stock for direct purchase on their USA site. Although it is 70 dollars more than Best Buy you still come out ahead (no sales tax from Samsung) Unless you count the freebies with the Best Buy purchase. You get a free AV program and if you are a student a 4 year subscription to office 365 university and a 16GB usb 2.0 flash drive.

None of the extras really make a difference for me since I can get office for 10 dollars through my school and have the other things as well. Are there any hidden differences in the Best Buy models I should know about before pulling the trigger on the one directly from Samsung?

 

Also, I found some relevant info on the SFC /scannow not being able to repair windows files properly. Apparently there is a new DISM command, which requires an elevated command prompt to run.
sfc /scannow - Cannot repair member file

 

I'm having a bit of an issue with the graphics rendering after playing a game (Dishonored in this case, but I've seen it after running 3dMark too). After closing the game, I return to the Win8 Metro interface and noticed a lot of black boxes and faulty rendering of the Metro gui. I also noticed the contrast was different than what I'm used on the desktop, which made me conclude that it's still using the Radeon for graphics rendering instead of the HD4000. I could only solve this with a reboot. Anyone else have this issue? I'm on the Catalys 13.5 drivers. Is there a way to force the switch to the HD4000?

 

This is a known issue with the Catalyst 13.5 beta drivers with no known fix other than to return to the original drivers, or as you have done here, reboot.

Catalyst 13.6 beta offers a fix to this issue, but is also a beta driver with its own issues.

Neither of these beta drivers are designed for the Samsung devices graphics specifics, only the driver available through SW Update is technically supported.

 

Thanks. I can live with it if it's a known issue of the 13.5 beta driver. Let's hope AMD/Samsung release some updated drivers soon.

 

I recently posted advice for how to work around the metro graphics problem here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...p870z5e-np880z5e-post9285572.html#post9285572

 

Thanks for that! Totally missed that post. Will try it out asap.

 

Guys, do you confirm that after last bios update, BLE is gone also for us, owners of 770Z5E?

 

I think it switched it off for me, but I just switched it back on again from the settings app.

 

That's the same as on my Series 9: A BIOS update switches off BLE by default. I think it also switches off the Fast BIOS mode as well but both can be re-enabled in either the BIOS or (Easy) Settings.

John

 

Guys & gals, thanks for all your help!! I decided to try this myself, so I could see first hand how everything worked. Did the F4 image to the USB stick, then all the updates. the first request for updates came from Samsung, so I went ahead and did those. Then, I did the Windows updates. Big mistake. After watching the spinner run for over 2 hours doing nothing (which is what happened before also), I decided to abort and test out the F4 restore, with the partition switch turned on. This time I did not let Samsung do any updates until I completed all the Windows updates.

After each completion of Windows updates, I verfied that each update was successful (I had several failed updates on the original setup), restarted the system and checked for more updates. Did this 4 times, until no more Win updates were available. Then, I let Samsung do it's thing. Man, everything installed unbelievably smooth, and the system runs perfect!

I am getting a pop-up now from Intel that says it wants to run the "intel manageability engine firmware recovery agent". Should I allow or deny?

Thanks again for everyone's help!

 

doesn't have the 8870 video card...

 

I am still getting disconnected from the internet quite regularly - the network icon will change to the warning icon and connection says limited. Disconnecting and reconnecting sometimes fixes first time, sometimes it may take 5,6,7 attempts to reconnect - very annoying! My phone will still be connected, and another laptop in the house is still connected.

Digging online, and the official samsung answer was to right click and do 'forget connection', then reconnect but this doesn't seem to work either. Drivers are up to date according to SWupdate.

I know this was a problem for some early on this huge thread somewhere but don't know if it ever got resolved. Any help ?

 

See if there is a newer driver direct from Intel. One member reported that disabling n mode fixed their connectivity issues.

John

 

Is there any solution for the 100%-HDD usage-bug yet

Handschriftlich von meinem Note 2 gesendet

 

Just got the Samsung ATIV Book 8 last week and I love it so far.
One of the first thing I do is to make sure I get a chance to recover it if stolen. So I installed Prey ( Prey Anti Theft: Track & find stolen Phones, Tablets and Laptops) and tested it. Works fine.
The last step is to have a bios password, just in case. But I can't figure out how to get in to the bios, haha.
The machine boots so quickly there's almost no time to press F2 or anything. I try F2 at the Samsung splash screen, but nothing happens...

Here's a video of a cold boot:
https://plus.google.com/113757914149118662901/posts/KXqej54rNe1

 

Ditto. I've tried rolling back the drivers to original ones (15.5.6.48) which usually gives me the 'more' reliable connections. But after that started playing up more and more frequently, I tried using the W8 update driver tool, but that was even less reliable. I then used the SW Update software, which was equally as unreliable as W8. I then tried downloading directly from Intel (15.6.1 and 15.8.0) and they both were the worst of the bunch.

If anyone can resolve this issue, or if owners who are not experiencing tetchy wifi issues could post which drivers they have I would be very grateful. Thanks!

 

Hi everyone, I'm having trouble getting my ATIV Book 8 to use the AMD dedicated graphics card. I have tried using the "Configure Switchable Graphics" and specifying the programs I want it to be used for. I have also switched everything to "High Performance" wherever I could. In Catalyst Control, I also checked the boxes to override application settings. But it's still the Intel card that gets used.

Sorry if this has been asked already. I have skimmed through this thread, but I may have missed it.

Can anyone help me with this?

 

Is the one with the 8870m available in the US yet?

 

I had all sorts of wifi problems to start with, and it sounds like you've possibly installed so many versions of the drivers that they're conflicting with each other. I would recommend the following as a starting point:

1. Download the driver "Wireless LAN Driver" to somewhere handy from SW Update using the "Save Setup Files" button - you need to do it this way as we're going to totally disable the wifi temporarily, so you won't be able to get back online to download it later.

2. Go to Programs and Features (Start screen, search in "Settings" for Programs and Features) and Uninstall any Intel network adapter installations you can see here (if any). These might be listed under Intel(r) Wifi.... or Intel(r) ProSet.... - BUT make sure you only delete WiFi/Network adapter, make sure to avoid anything like Wi Di, Bluetooth etc, which might also be listed under Intel and/or with the ProSet name against them. Reboot if prompted. Depending on the version you have had installed, you may now not find anything listed under steps 3-5, but check them anyway. If you can't see any Wifi installations in Programs and Features, carry on to the next step.

3. Go to Device Manager (Start screen, search in "Settings" for Device Manager). Locate the "Network Adapters" node and expand it.

4. Right Click on "Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6235" (may be slightly different on your machine, but it should be similar enough to pick the right one).

5. Click Uninstall. On the warning that pops up, TICK the box that says "Delete the driver software for this device", and click OK. Reboot if prompted.

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 if the driver shows up again - continue to do this until you can no longer select "Delete the driver software for this device" or until the driver totally disappears from the list.

7. You will now lose all wifi connections, and importantly, it will delete all the drivers. Now head over to where you stored the drivers in step 1, and install them using the setup file you saved from SW Update.

8. Reboot/restart, even if not prompted, it will ensure that all drivers are installed correctly and that any residue old ones are removed. You should now have wifi working again, and hopefully stable.

If you still have more problems after this process, post back!

 

F2 is the correct BIOS access key, but you have to press it repeatedly several times as soon as you hit the power button. By the time the Samsung logo shows, you're pretty much too late!

Nice video BTW. The Chronos7/Ativ8's are amazing machines!

 

Had those disconnection issues, and rolling back to the win 8's stock driver fixed it. I'd suggest trying that too!

The only small annoying thing I'm expierencing is that my laptop's ping is a bit higher than my friend's - who's using a really old toshiba brick - something like 20 ms more, which in online gaming is not the best.. But I don't know what to try to lower it. Anyway, the signal is stable, the speed is awesome and I have no drops in the connection. I'm now avoiding all the wireless driver updates that SW update shows me, cause the wifi just works perfectly.

 

There are a couple of things that could be going on here:

1. Very few applications actually report that they are using the AMD Graphics, though they actually are. This is a drawback of dynamically switchable graphics (though I wish they'd fix this in the drivers, so that you know what's going on).

2. You may find that the applications you're trying to force switchable don't actually need to use them, no matter how many settings you change, if an application is not a high demand graphics application, chances are it's never going to use Switchable graphics.

Try running a graphics benchmarking tool, the scores should tell you what's going on. Force both High performance and power-saving settings, and see if you get vastly different results. If the results come back the same, then post back.

 

HI guys

If I use samsung Recovery software just copy or clone original HDD(used about 350GB) to a SSD, and then switch them will be ok simple as that or I need setting anything?
Because I don't want to do a reinstall win8....

 

Thanks a lot for the reply - have done all that and will report back.

 

Your best bet is to use a 32gb USB stick, to create a bootable backup, using the Recovery tools, then install your SSD and rebooot using the USB stick. You need to change, temporarily, a couple of BIOS settings, which you can see details of in the first post of this thread, plus a good SSD installation tutorial.

Hope it goes OK, it's actually an easy process, just take your time removing the bottom of the laptop!

 

Good afternoon everyone,

I have the samsung series 7 chronos 15.6 inch i7 (my signature shows all the details.) I have noticed that there is a lot of buzzing coming from my left speaker as I am facing the laptop. Has anyone had this issue or have a link to where there is a fix for this. I am fine with taking the laptop apart and it sounds like something is loose. I remember someone saying that they fixed this issue but I don't remember what thread it was on.

Thanks,

Jason

 

So far I'm really liking it. The hard drive is a 5400 HDD so it can get pretty slow at times, but that's really the only major downside to it and you can just switch it out with a better hard drive to fix it. Very sturdy build. Decent keyboard and track pad, although the track pad is a one piece which really kinda sucks, but it isn't the worst thing in the world.

When I first booted up the computer, I had a memory leak through the ECMC tag I found on poolmon. At boot I was consuming 70-90% of the 8GB while running basically nothing, but this was all fixed by uninstalling the program "Intellimemory." After about 6 hours or so of use, my mouse disappeared on the screen. At first I thought I had disabled it through Fn+F5, but now I'm thinking it was some glitch with the touch screen. I could only get it back by restarting the system, and believe me I tried everything hoping it wouldn't come to that. Still not exactly sure what caused it.

Overall I'm very satisfied with it, especially considering the price. I can't wait until I can get this thing up to 16 GB RAM and maybe an SSD instead of the turtle it's currently running on.

 

I see , thanks :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

:thumbsup::thumbsup:I see , thanks

 

I'm starting to suspect my Chronos has developed heat issues - playing Youtube video gets the top part of the machine (between the keyboard and the hinge) almost painfully hot. HWiNFO gives me temperatures in the mid 40s to low 50s under normal operation, but in the 60s when playing videos. This is on a special power mode I've cooked up - based on Power Saver but with active cooling. Is that unusually high?