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

Is it possible to connect a PS3 or Xbox to the Chronos 7 for it to be used as a monitor?

 

Not without some sort of usb video digitiser.

And even then, it's having to digitise the video in the adapter, then decode it to play back on the laptop, so the laptop is having to do a fair amount of work, it's not just being a passive screen, and the lag could be truly terrible.

Given that the Chronos 7 can fairly comfortably outperform either console on most cross-platform games, you'd be better off just getting a wired Xbox pad and playing games with it plugged into the laptop.

Or just buy a small cheap HDTV or monitor if this is for playing GTA V while the rest of the household watches the TV.


You can use the laptop to run the Xbox SmartGlass app from the Windows 8 store, but that doesn't do Wii-U like gameplay streaming yet, though it might one day do so for Xbox One.

 

Does anyone have any idea on how I can fix the keyboard backlight problem that 90% of people are having?

I can't use fn keys on fan control or wireless but what I need the most is the keyboard(kbd) backlight to work.

I have ubuntu 13.04 on a samsung series 7 chronos 700Z5C and never seen the lights on of the kbd.

I've followed some tutorials showing how to do key mappings,after doing so I can see the logo of keyboard light on the top right of the screen but the bar of it it's always full(no matter whether im reducing or increasing the kbd backlight),however the kbd light never turns on.

 

Hey Guys, recently became a proud owner of the ativ book 8! got it a few days ago and its definitely an amazing laptop. Just thought id share some things that I encountered whilst setting up which could help some people:

1. AMD Driver updates - yea...this one... haha in the OP it recommends to run amd's uninstall/driver removal tool prior to installing the new drivers. This worked, except for the fact that it also removed all of my power profiles amongst other things as well which weren't reinstalled when I put the new drivers on. So just a word of caution with that tool. Ive found a better way to update drivers is: first uninstall with catalyst manager from control panel, then run driverfusion to remove any remaining drivers (AMD and Intel) that may still be left behind, optional-run ccleaner to remove registry keys that are left over/remaining files. Then install the new drivers as you normally would. Obiously tonnes of reboots inbetween these steps. Google it for more detailed instructions - make a restore point before installing drivers

2. Don't be worried with battery wear, mine went up to 0.8% after 1 charge, then to 2.5% after the second... Funnily enough now it jumps up and down from 0.8% to 2.5% and vice versa Id take the value with a pinch of salt. Oh and for those who are looking to save power(not that you really need to), sadly i'd recommend using IE instead of firefox/chrome. IE consumes way less power than the other 2, google it, Microsoft ran a study to prove this and I must say that they're not lying. For me, using IE (depending on loading or idle) my current draw is roughly -8 to -12, with firefox its higher ranging from -10 to about -16. This doesn't include youtube videos, just normal webpages, and with flash etc disabled. link: Test Comparison: Which Browser Will Make Your Laptop's Battery Last Longer? | 7 Tutorials - also the recent Microsoft study shows this

Ill post any other random observations later, enjoy your amazing laptops!

 

could someone tell me again it would be possible to replace the wireless adapter with a different one other than the 6235. ive tried everthing and its still .
thanks

 

Hi All
I'm sure this has been answered somewhere but how do I make sure my numlock key is always on when I power up?
Thanks
Rob

 

a guide is linked in the OP

 

Hello!
I own this laptop since may, haven't had any real problems until now. Today, Easy Settings app stopped working and it wouldn't start. I tried reinstalling it from SW Update but that didn't help. Now even fn keys aren't working with exception of volume controls & touch mouse lock.
Anyone had similiar problems and could help me?

EDIT: I followed two threads I found on this forum which helped me to realize that something was wrong with graphic drivers. I decided to install AMD's newest beta drivers and also make a complete reinstall of Intel HD's. Everything works as before

 

Guys, will I be fine if I removed Samsung User Guide from control panel as well as SW UPDATE? I never used and if any driver update came out I would read it here and manually install it. Would I still be fine without these tools? I'm trying to free as much RAM as possible and I also want a fast boot so the less applications to run at startup the better it is..

 

Are you running Win7 or Win8?

If you are running Win8, you should not be using Easy Settings, it was designed for Win7. It is a collection of modules, some of which may work in Win8, but others only just barely work right in Win7 (because they are hacks). Instead, download the latest Settings using SW Update. Uninstall what you have now, reboot, then install Settings.

Of course, if indeed you are using Win7, you have to use Easy Settings. Once again, try downloading the latest version in SW Update, uninstall, reboot, re-install. The thread linked below describes how to get the latest version.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/729139-settings-easy-settings-what-you-need-know.html

 

Yes, you can do that. Just know that you will have to re-install SW Update to get those driver updates later. Also notice that uninstalling SW Update may leave S Agent behind, which you have to remove manually. Check this recent post for details.

 

Thank you very much Dannemand for your reply! I'm using W8 and I was able to make Settings working again by reinstalling drivers.

 

*Post Removed*

 

A video review would be nice, I would like to see more videos of this laptop. There are a few out there but more is usually better.

 

I can try to make one in the near future.

 

AMD Catalyst Mobility 13.9 Official is out. AMD Catalyst

By the way I noticed that the driver verification tool from AMD website doesn't allow our laptops to download the driver. found the original driver from a trusted source.

AMD Catalyst 13.9 WHQL Download

Initial experience with the driver is bad, somewhat all my games are not activating the AMD GPU, but I realize I've forgotten to disable the ULPS, which after doing so, everything is smooth as butter.

I think I may have spoken too soon... Somehow during Alt-Tabbing, my games, be it World of Tanks or World of Warcraft would drastically drop in FPS, only way of bringing the FPS back up is to keep Alt-Tabbing till the FPS goes up... Weird...

 

Yes, according to this post Intel Wireless-AC 7260 works well.

I should mention that I'm using Intel 6235 with stock drivers and I've never had a disconnection in two weeks of usage. Maybe I'm lucky

 

Just wait until you upgrade to 8.1 and that stock driver is no longer available. In fairness, the very latest intel driver for the 6235, along with the tweaks from the thread dedicated to tweaking the 6235, was working fine for me without having to disable wireless N. For the time being, I am back in Windows 8 with the stock MS driver. As a side note - for my use, I really didn't find any features added in 8.1 that were absolutely must-have's, I've gotten used to the metro interface and the lack of a start button stopped bugging me after the first week.

 

Can someone with more experience than I please confirm that this 7260 should work perfectly fine with the Series 7? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Wireless-AC-Network-802-11ac-Bluetooth/dp/B00D69CJ2Y

Also, for those who have replaced the wireless card, was it straight forward? I opened the laptop up before to put in a SSD but didn't pay much attention to the network card.

 

Im on the 13.10 beta and its working perfectly.

 

I've replaced the internal wireless with the Intel AC7260 and working fine, albiet some issue with the bluetooth power saving.

 

What issues?

 

Just an update to my own post, I've switched back to the 13.8 Beta 2 and the FPS issue is resolved.

Reinstalling 13.9 WHQL and 13.10 Beta using the same method of clearing the registry and folders result in the reproduce-able FPS drop from Alt-Tabbing. Seems like some bugs still exists in the 13.9 WHQL and 13.10 Beta in terms of the Enduro switching.

 

Seems like some issue with the bluetooth low power state, unchecking "allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" in the bluetooth adapter solves the issue.

 

i have an np770z5e, can anyone suggest a decent replacement psu yet, i think 120w its best, the one supplied gets red hot, a bit worrying. ive seen one thats 87% efficient, some i found earlier :-

Konig 120W Universal Notebook Computer Power Supply | eBay

Konig Universal Notebook Computer Mains Power Adapter 130W With USB Port :: Universal...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trust-Compact-Notebook-Adapter-PW-3120/dp/B001D3124G

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0050NKC...eative=6742&camp=1638&creativeASIN=B0050NKCFA

Thermaltake - - Toughpower 120W - ADP120W0006

USNA 120 - Cooler Master

 

I want to play some games in a lower resolution but i noticed the screen resolution isnt scaling. But cant find any setting for this in the AMD driver panel.

Does anyone have an idea how to turn screen scaling on?

 

Hi guys could somebody with experience in this state which wireless cards can be replaced with the 6235? I mean if im gonna replace the wireless network card then i want to replace it with something that has good range/signal and is not more power consuming so that the battery life doesnt decrease. Thanks for the help

 

for the intel AC 7260. Does it have to be the AC version or can it be the N version? where is the differnce?

 

Hi Folk, I'm fairly new around here, nice to see there is such a big community of owners willing to share help/tips etc. With only the best intentions in mind, I'm hoping to tap into some of that help. First, let me say that I have google'd this problem and searched extensively within this thread, while there are many posts about migrating partitions and recovering windows etc. I don't think any one has quite hit upon my issue for fixing a broken F4 to boot recovery in order to clone to an SSD. If I'm wrong please point me to the correct post.

The laptop: I have recently purchased a US version of the Ativ book 8, refurbished from an eBay seller and had it shipped to the UK. I am extremely happy with the hardware. I paid just under 900 GBP with taxes and import duty for a gorgeous laptop with an upgraded 16GB or RAM and 400 GBP less than the current price of the UK version, the only major difference I can see is slightly lower spec Radeon 8770 with 1G video RAM as opposed to the 8870 with 2G of the UK version. For a 400 pound saving, I am more than willing to accept that. The point I guess though is that it is difficult for me to return it. I guess I could, but because there are no hardware problems that I am aware of I don't really want to go through the hassle. The seller hasn't exactly mis-sold it, its just not been reverted to factory state in the proper "Samsung" way.

The issue: It seems the seller did a fresh install of windows 8 and only re-installed the "Samsung Settings" software and nothing else. This is not a problem, I have downloaded SW Update and can install most other Samsung apps. The problem is a) The F4 to boot to recovery is broken, presumably because the win8 install overwrote the GPT table at the beginning of the drive. b) I can't install "Samsung Recovery" (again, presumably SRS6) because when doing so from SW Update it says "Recovery partition not found" and then the install just quits. So I cannot boot into recovery and I cannot create a new recovery disk/migrate my drive to the new 512GB SSD drive that I bought because recovery wont load.

So far I have only tried Clonezilla, I changed the boot options so I could launch parted magic live cd and tried to intelligently copy partitions with Clonezilla to move onto my new SSD. This failed because clonezilla said it couldn't recognise at least one of the partitions. This left the only option being a block-level copy of 1TB of data, which obviously won't restore onto a 512GB SSD.

What I would like to do is restore the recovery partition so that I can install Samsung Recovery and then migrate using that method. But first I need to see if the recovery partitions are still in tact. I have attached a screenshot of my partitions as seen by windows. It seems the smaller recovery partition and the larger data recovery partition are still there, but I need to check if the data is still there or not. This leads me on to the couple of questions I have for you guys:

View attachment 102263

1) Can I mount the 11GB data partition under Linux and browse to see if there is data there?
2) Is there a way to recover the F4 recovery option and allow Samsung Recovery to be re-installed on my windows 8 OS

I am assuming (and ready to accept I may be wrong), that the "F4" option which is part of the GPT (I'm not too familiar with this new format, but quite comfortable with MBR) simply instructs the bootloader to boot from the "1000MB" partition instead of the main windows partition. This leads me onto question 3

3) Can I create a USB Grub boot disk / grub4dos disk or whatever that simply points to the first recovery partition? I would hope this would allow me boot into the SRS6 partition and use the tools there to back up the whole recovery partition to a USB stick so that I have a bootable backup should I need it. I could then do a fresh install of windows onto my SSD. Is this correct?

4) Finally, When installing to the SSD, using the Samsung recovery software in windows 8 to simply do "Disk copy" would be my preferred method of migration, but Id be happy to look at others so long as I have a backup. Yes I realise I could just keep the shipped 1TB drive on the shelf for a rainy day, but I already have a lot of backup storage and don't have much need for the 1TB drive and was going to eBay it once I was happy everything was working and I could restore if necessary from USB boot media.

I'm happy to hear your thoughts and will gladly post my results. I'm less interested in comments that suggest I "Just keep the 1TB drive on the shelf in case you need to recover" as a) to me this is a waste of a hard drive and b) I am an engineer and therefore can't help but play with things

Regards

------------------

Edit: If people want me to move this to a dedicated thread I am happy to do so, it just seemed to me that model specific questions/help requests all seem to go in this big "Owners lounge" thread

 

I tried the n version of the 7260 card in my X4C. There was no obvious improvement in reduced connectivity issues compared to the 6235 and the 7260 n card is only single channel. I think that both cards use the same basic Intel driver which is getting frequently updated. The AC 7260 might bring benefits provided you are connecting to a dual band router.

You need to have Samsung's USB Admin Tool. Unfortunately, you also need to have a working Samsung Recovery Solution to create it as discussed here. If the seller has another of the same model of notebook where the drive hasn't been reformatted then they could create the Admin Tool and send it to you.

Otherwise you will have to try other cloning programs. Acronis recently released a new version of TrueImage which they claim is Windows 8 compatible. And did you try Clonezilla after shrinking the partitions to be significantly smaller than the SSD capacity?

John

 

Thanks John. do you think the AC 7260 is the best alternative to replace the 6235 or is there something else thats more viable? I mean im getting short 10-20 secs disconnects all the time, from even on lan cable. Ive tried out all the remedies and still not luck, so really looking to change it.

 

Disconnects when using the LAN suggest that there a problem with the router or its connection to the internet. How old is it? They seem to deteriorate with age and a regular router reboot might also help.

Someone put in a Killer WiFi card but reported some problems. You should be able to find the discussion by googling for "site: Samsung Notebook Forum Killer WiFi"

John

 

Firstly thanks for a great thread and all who have given great advice. I'm an experienced IT teacher and self proclaimed nerd and I have just about read 200 pages (over a few weeks) to keep up to date and yes I am tired and confused. The most common question is to do with cloning vs fresh install and SSDs. I rang Samsung Australia and there official line on warranty is, if I do the SSD update as part of the purchase then my manufacturers warranty is OK but if I install it after the purchase then the warranty is voided. Given that advice I have decided to get the sellers to do the upgrade and re install windows. Ativ book 8 np880. So my questions .......

Do I tell the service center to do a fresh install and use the old HDD as my factory restore backup.
Do I tell them to clone and then I'll make a backup onto to a bootable USB stick?
Do I say nothing and hope for the best.

I'll upgrade all the necessary drivers when I get it home.

 

Hi Johnbarr, welcome to NBR.

Most members who needed Samsung warranty service after swapping in an SSD have been OK, assuming they did it carefully, without leaving scratches or other evidence, AND if they swapped the original HDD/SSD back before sending it in for service. The few reports we have had of Samsung denying warranty service were due to broken or bent parts after reassembling the laptop. We have even had several cases of Samsung accepting warranty repairs with non-original SSDs still installed, and some Samsung reps claiming that it wouldn't void the warranty -- but don't count on that.

That said, if you can have the store swap in the SSD, and get confirmation from Samsung that this will protect your warranty, I can see the benefit of that.

I would ask the service center to F4 boot Recovery and create a bootable factory image backup on a 32GB USB stick BEFORE swapping out the original HDD. Have them use the procedure described here and make sure they enable the Create Boot Disk option in Recovery. Or you can do it yourself if you have access to the laptop with the original HDD.

And I would have them do this regardless of whether you choose to also have them clone the HDD onto the new SSD -- a process which they may or may not do correctly. This USB stick is your "Recovery on a stick" and can be used to re-create all necessary partitions on the SSD and restore the factory installation anytime you want.

If you have Win8 install media (which Microsoft doesn't like to give you), of course you can also perform a clean install, then install drivers using this post as guidance. Most of them (but not all) you should let SW Update install automatically.

Let us know how it goes

 

Thanks for that D. If they forget to make a bootable USB stick (I'm guessing that will happen. They might charge more) I'm assuming I can still plug in the old HDD to a usb port with the correct SATA to USB adapter and boot from that and then make a bootable 32GB USB stick from that. Is that right?

 

Hi,

I have been using my 770z5e for a while now without any issues and also bought the 840 EVO SSD now and would like to swap the discs. There are so many options, and I am now wondering what the easiest solution would be for me if I just want to have the default setup of Windows 8 as provided. I checked for the factory image option but this is sadly not available in my recovery program. Perhaps it's because I have a UK version and not the US (the help method does state the factory image), but the button is just not there. Anyone else had this issue before?

Kind Regards,
Kenzo

 

First make sure you have the latest version of SRS although they should all include the option to backup the factory image. If it still doesn't show the factory image option then I wonder if the recovery partition has been deleted - check in Disk Management. The availability of the option to make a bootable backup depends on whether you have inserted a suitable bootable storage device.

Also try the BIOS level SRS by tapping the F4 button a few times immediately after turning on the computer.

John

 

Unfortunately, no. The disk containing the Recovery partitions must be installed in the laptop in order to make that backup. It is NOT a matter of simply booting that disk or booting the Recovery partition; if you cannot F4 boot Recovery, you won't be able to create the backup - even if you do it with the SRS Windows app.

Why not tell the store you want to create a factory image backup before they swap in the new SSD, then do it yourself? Unless it's an online store, of course

 

Guyz where to buy 770z5e? I cant find this on amazon.
I need version w/o touch screen.

 

It was discontinued a few months ago and superseded by the Ativ Book 8 870Z5E with essentially the same hardware and higher price.

John

 

Now i know everything.
Thank you for answer.

 

Hi all, I've just ordered an 880Z5E which will get here soon, I also have a Samsung 840 250GB SSD here ready to put straight in it. I know this has been mentioned in the thread but I've never done anything like this so am not sure what the best way to go about swaping the drives is, there seem to be a few different methods of doing this. Is there one clear cut best way?

 

view original post

 

OP, are you going to keep updating the original post with updated vid driver links?

 

hey jeepers any luck with the ssd? i have the same laptop and tried with a Samsung 830 128GB SSD and it's been a nightmare. it's not recognized by bios i think.

 

Not yet, I'll try the method in the original post as soon as the laptop gets here and let you know what happens. Is that what you tried?

 

Hi Jeepers, congrats on your new laptop

1) F4 boot Recovery and use the Factory Image tab (as described in this Samsung guide). Make sure you enable the Create Boot Disk option. This backup must be made to a USB flash drive, 32GB required for most models.

Avoid SanDisk flash drives because they work as fixed disks, not removable disks, which makes them incompatible with Recovery (credit to member bel90 for this info). Also, avoid USB3 flash drives as backups made on those have been reported to not work (credit to member zlThomaslz for this info). If it takes more than an hour to backup, there may be a problem with the USB stick. Get a replacement. Users have reported backup times of just 15mins on fast sticks.

With this Bootable Factory Image Backup the entire disk can be re-imaged to factory state, Recovery partitions and all, no matter how messed up it becomes. There is more description in this post, including why having a secondary backup is often a good idea.

2) Test that you can boot the USB backup and that the Recovery works (just don't restore anything yet). Press F10 at boot to select USB as boot device (Esc on some models); or change Boot Priority in BIOS. You may have to change the following BIOS settings in order to boot the USB, although some members were able to boot it without making those changes.

Fast Boot/Fast BIOS=disabled
SecureBoot=disabled
OS Mode Selection=UEFI OS

3) After swapping in the SSD, boot the USB backup and let it re-partition and image the new drive. It should automatically initialize the drive and create and restore all the necessary partitions.

4) Close Recovery, shut down, remove the USB backup, and power on to verify that the new installation is running. Once you have verified it, you can change those BIOS settings back to default.

5) Use this post as guidance to clean out bloatware and junk.

6) Use this post to further trim your Windows installation and save some space on the SSD.

7) You can use the original HDD as external storage in an USB enclosure. Just don't delete the Recovery partitions on it, in case you need to send the laptop in for service some day; or if you want to sell it.

8) If you keep your USB backup safe, you can delete the Recovery partitions on the new SSD, named SAMSUNG_REC2 (the big one) and SAMSUNG_REC (the small one, named RECOVERY on some models). Leave other partitions alone (see info here). If your installation gets messed up at anytime, you can use the USB backup to restore without having to put the HDD back in.

Please keep us posted on your progress

 

I'm about to pick up the book 8 880 but I'm a little confused about the different methods for creating a factory backup onto to a usb stick. I think I've read too many posts. I can use SRS from windows or F4 on boot up but this option doesn't appear to give me a boot option on my usb stick, but does that matter? Others have suggested typing/searching "recovery" in Windows and that does give me a boot option. If I go down the SRS path, isn't easy to recover from that usb stick, using F4 again, regardless of whether its bootable or not. What is the preferred method and does it really matter if the usb stick is bootable?

 

Thank you so much Dannemand! Thats exactly what I was looking for I'll let you know how it goes! *Sits by front door*

 

Did you have the service center install the SSD as you described back here? And if so, did you have them create a USB backup first?

If the SSD is already swapped in, and if they cloned it properly, your F4 should still work, and you can make a USB backup yourself (see my response to Jeepers just above your post). Having that backup will allow you to delete the Recovery Partitions and save some space on the SSD (also described in that response to Jeepers).

If the service center made a "improper" cloning, F4 may not work, and Samsung Recovery in Windows probably won't work either (although you can try it). If that should be the case, there is most likely nothing you can do to get it working, and you will have to use the PC without Recovery. Again, follow my response above your post for advice on optimizing and trimming your Windows installation.

And if you are receiving the laptop with the original HDD still in it, just follow EVERYTHING in my last response above your post.

I recommend doing almost all Recovery actions from F4 boot, NOT from within Windows.