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

Thanks again dannemand your help is appreciated. I am going to insist they do the F4 backup but it appears that the Australian version of F4 doesn't provide an option for making a bootable USB stick. I'm happy, however, to be corrected by the Aussie's who frequent this site. If that's true then what's my next step. I'm assuming that having it bootable allows me to not only delete partitions but resize them.

 

Hmmm... that's puzzling. I hope Samsung isn't backing away from this great feature.

If it isn't in F4, then look in the Windows app as well (Samsung Recovery Solution in Windows, NOT the Windows Recovery feature). Refer the service center to that Samsung guide I linked to make sure they make the right type of backup (the page is actually down right now, hopefully it'll be back up).

Regardless, ask them to use the Disk Copy feature (also in F4 Recovery) to clone from the HDD to the SSD. That will preserve functioning Recovery on the new SSD. Make a regular (non-bootable) Factory Image backup to an external drive (or USB stick). Once you have Windows setup the way you want, you can delete the Recovery Data partition (named SAMSUNG_REC2) but make sure you don't delete the Recovery Software partition (named SAMSUNG_REC or RECOVERY). That way you can still F4 boot Recovery and restore from that factory image on the external drive.

And you'll always have the original HDD to fall back on.

 

You are a legend. I am a lot more comfortable with the whole process. I'll let you know how I got on. Next time you come "down under" I'll buy you a drink.

 

Went to a computer store to check the NP870Z5E and found out that the color is somewhat bluish. It is stated in the spec sheet that it is the ash black variant. Is it really not black as shown in the pictures?

 

Hi everybody! I am experiencing problems with amd gpu. I installed catalyst 13.10 beta and since that moment amd gpu usage fluctuates in games. In every game it is the same. Once is gpu usage 100% then immediately drops to 64% then goes back to 100% and again and again. I reinstalled drivers and also installed old ones but it did not help. I also lost control to configure amd gpu in advanced power settings. I have also installed amd enduro fix dx9 without any success. Everything is set to high performance, silent mode is off and I do not know what can be wrong. Please help.

 

I haven't done that in a while but I will start doing that.


And dannemand, fantastic tutorial! I'll put it in the OP if that's okay.

Please tell me if I missed other useful posts, which I definitely did. I've had very little time.

 

Thank you, yes of course feel free. And thank you for maintaining that OP. It's great service to this community!

I'll see if I can think of other posts that should go there.

 

You can adjust the display color using the samsung settings utility. By default it is on "Standard" meaning its basically the raw display with no adjustments at all. I put mine on "Sharp" The display has been tested and can render 96% of RGB

 

I think he means the colour of the laptop itself

 

Yes that's exactly what I mean. It's the same color in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJU9IvNDAFw&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

After watching the video again, I guess it's because of the reflection from the screen that makes the surface of the laptop appear bluish.

 

Thanks for the tips. I'll approach the seller but Im not sure how far I'll get with this. I think clonezilla wanted to block copy the entire drive, but I will check again to see if perhaps it was just going to block copy the partition.

The problem I have is I don't know how to migrate it to the SSD and make it bootable? Obviously I can copy across the windows partition, but I will need to create a GPT / MBR that points to that partition and Im not sure how I will do that without a USB Admin Tool or a windows 8 DVD?

Does anyone know if I can boot the recovery partition using a GRUB boot usb or SYSLINUX boot DVD.. I've looked into it briefly and the 1000MB recovery partition has a Boot.sdi and WinRE.wmi but I can't see a BOOTMGR file. Can I boot the partition with just these files?

 

I read your original problem description. Re-installing Win8, even deleting and creating Windows and other partitions, doesn't normally break F4, as long as the original partition table entry for the Recovery Software partition (named SAMSUNG_REC or RECOVERY, depending on model) remains untouched.

The most likely cause of why F4 broke on your machine, is because the previous owner created an image backup (using Clonezilla, Acronis or whatever) and thought it was safe to wipe the drive completely, because he could always restore the image. Once he restored that image, he found what many have found: that 3rd party imaging tools destroy the F4 link when they restore that Recovery partition and re-create its partition table entry. So far we have only a single report of a user restoring with a 3rd party tool and maintaining F4 (Clonezilla, as it happens, see here). All others have found that it destroys F4. Certainly there is a greater chance of preserving F4 doing a block copy of the entire drive, rather than individual partitions.

What you want (as you already know) is find some way, any way, to boot that Recovery, so that you can use the tools in there to either (A) create a bootable factory image backup on a 32GB USB stick (using the procedure described here, making sure to enable the Create Boot Disk option); or (B) clone the HDD directly to an external SDD (using the procedure described here, shrinking the Windows partition as needed to make sure it fits).

USB Admin Tool in combination with a separate backup of the factory image (or file and folder backup of the entire Recovery partition) was how we did things with the older SRS5. The above procedures in SRS6 are much easier, though. The thread linked here provides overview of the process, and links to exact procedures.

But in your case, booting that Recovery is going to be the hard part. You have a few options you can try:

1) Have Samsung re-image the drive, which they will do for a fee. I've heard some mention $50. Anyone but the most adventurous and experienced users should consider this option if they lost their F4. Seriously!

2) Try to install and run the latest Samsung Recovery Windows app from SW Update. In some cases, that will detect the Recovery partition and re-establish the F4 link. It is rare though. Regardless, if you can run the Samsung Recovery Windows app, and it finds the Recovery Data partition and the factory image, by all means use that opportunity to create a USB backup while you can. Again, make sure to enable the Create Boot Disk option.

3) Add Recovery to your Windows boot menu using EasyBCD, as described in this post. I have used that with SRS5, and a few have reported success with SRS6. I think this is your easiest and most likely to succeed option.

4) Try and boot the Recovery Software partition using Grub as described in this post. That's what I did when I first ran into this issue long time ago, and I know it works on SRS5 and MBR. I haven't tried on SRS6 and GPT though, and haven't seen others reports about it with SRS6.

5) Try the fix described here. I haven't tried that myself, but member doo37 posted his success with it in this post. His was a different problem though, not a complete destruction of the F4 link.

If and when you manage to boot that Recovery (or run the Samsung Recovery Windows app successfully) use the steps in this post to perform the cloning and get the laptop running on your new SSD.

The reason you may have had difficulty finding discussions about this is NOT because it didn't happen to others, but rather because it happens so often (along with other Recovery issues) that Google is flooded with hits about it, and it's almost impossibly to separate the wheat from the chaff. If you follow the links above, they should lead you to more discussions on this specific subject.

Please keep us posted on your progress and what worked for you

 

New Elantech touchpad drivers from MSI, v11.13.4.4, dated September 25, 2013.

MSI Global – Download Center

 

Is the Ativ Book 8 going to have Haswell anytime soon?

 

As I know,, catalyst 13.10 is not the Samsung one, and if the drivers are not the manufacturer's ones, it can not maximize the performance. so drivers provided by Samsung is recommended. hope it might be helpful.

 

Actually its not screen reflection, this time samsung's "ash black" is meaning cameleon black with blue grain in it, it really looks like its blue if u take a closer look, thats why i decided to go with bare metal color instead ash black, since its blue

 

Thats not true !
I installed catalyst 13.8beta and it increased my performance in games. And this is not the Samsung driver.
Crysis 3 runs now very good.

I think 13.10 could do a better Job !

 

Ahhh sorry, I have the gunmetal one haha

 

A new bios (Ver P05ABU) advertised via SW Update. Anyone install this? Anyone know what they fixed? SW Update just says "update to improve system stability".

I haven't been on the thread in a while. Any hope of any real updates from Samsung? I've already installed newer video drivers, but was hoping Samsung would be providing them via SW Update. Also anyone hear about fixes for the backlit keyboard (especially needed with silver chronos).

Thanks.

 

I'm going to install them now, to see what changes.

Updated the graphics drivers section of the OP, I'll try t keep it up-to-date now.

 

It was my understanding that the difficulty in controlling backlight was already solved in an earlier BIOS update. I base this on posts earlier in this thread, although I don't have a link, so you will have to search.

Of course no BIOS update can fix that key color

Once again, you're doing a great service maintaining that OP, thanks a lot. And don't worry, nobody expects you to do it daily or even weekly.

 

Installed the BIOS update - nothing new and nothing noticeable - could be prep for Windows 8.1

 

I am considering the purchase of the Ativ Book 8 for business purposes and have a few questions. I have been through every page of this thread, and the last 200 pages or so of the 'Introducing' thread, so I am aware of most of the common issues with this notebook, but I still have a few questions:

1. For those who have purchased the Ativ Book 8 USA BestBuy model (NP880Z5E-X01UB), does this one always have an empty memory card slot, so it can be upgraded to 16GB of RAM? The confusion here may be in the model numbers - BestBuy also sold the 'silver' version (780Z5E model), which I understand came in both 4+4 and 8+0 configurations, but that the USA BestBuy version of the 780Z5E was usually 4+4 and limited to 12GB. This is not a deal breaker for me, but it would be nice to know I can get the full 16GB in dual channel configuration.

2. What kind of warranty issues have you had on this laptop? I am interested in doing an SSD upgrade, and will keep the old hard drive for a possible warranty return, but I am interested in knowing what specific issues people have had that required return for warranty.

As an observation, my local BestBuy had both the 880Z5E and the 780Z5E on display. The 780Z5E had an attached 'Ativ Book 8' name badge on the front (kind of stuck on, over the other model number), and it had a 'property of samsung sales' sticker on the bottom of it. While both models were silver in color, the 880Z5E had either black or march darker grey labeling on the keyboard, and was a huge improvement (to my eyes) in the usuability of the keyboard. I've been to the store a couple of times, and spent most of my time looking at the 780Z5E model, and was very hesitant about the light grey letters on silver keys - that keyboard is almost unusable. Throw in the backlight decreasing this contrast further in certain situations, and its like you have a keyboard with no letters on it ?!?. Happy to say the 80Z5E model was significantly better, and has influenced by decision to purchase this laptop.

 

I have the Best Buy 780Z5E version of this laptop--bought it in February right after it was released, and upgraded the hard drive. I currently have a few dead pixels on the right middle portion of the screen that appeared sometime in the last few months. I called the other day to see what their policy was, and they said that they would replace the screen if it was more than three next to one another. The pixels are so dense that it's hard to tell how many are dead, but I figure it must be at least three or else I wouldn't be able to see it with the naked eye.

I told him I had replaced the hard drive and I asked if it was alright to remove the hard drive before shipping it to them. (I had always done this in the past with HP laptops, and never had an issue.) He said absolutely not. I also couldn't put the now-formatted original hard drive back in without installing windows. He said if they get a machine without Windows, they will charge $40 to reinstall it.

There is a chance they will need to replace the whole machine if they don't have replacement LCD screens in stock, so if I leave in my new hard drive I could risk losing the drive. He said he would write on the notes that they need to call me before they replace the machine, but then what? I'm guessing they would have to ship the device back to me for me to take out my drive, then I'd have to put in the old drive and ship it back to them. The difficulty of swapping hard drives + the recovery partition/backup is a huge PITA, and I haven't decided how I'm going to handle the repair.

At least changing the hard drive doesn't void warranty, even if you risk losing it if you don't put the old one back in before sending it to be repaired.

 

also got the notification but mine's (870Z5E-X01PT) says its P03ADH (my current is P02ADH). I wonder if there's a changelog somewhere...?!

 

I stand corrected on this. I had a chance, at last, to play with one of these and SRS does have a boot option. Apologies to all my Aussie friends here.

 

Same here 10char

 

Thank you for the update. That's good to hear!

 

Thanks for the great walkthrough Dannemand, I've been going through it and have put the new SSD in and am at the trying to boot from the USB but it gives me some options...

'Partition Settings' -
'When the partition is set, all the data in all the drives will be deleted - ON/OFF'
Then I have an 'after recovery' slider where i can chose the size of the C/D drives.

'Maintain user data'
Maintaining the currently saved data and recovering the system (Data to be backed up: 0.0B - ON/OFF)

any idea what i should put for these? :3

 

Good job so far. And good questions. I would suggest the following settings:

Partition Settings=On: to completely re-partition the new drive.

C/D size slider: I have a 48GB Windows partition (C) and the rest as a separate data partition (D). This makes it easy to backup and restore (C) anytime without affecting my data. Having a single big partition for both is a bit more space efficient (sharing free space on a single drive). This is discussed in the the post linked in step (6) of the guide.

Maintain user data=Off: There is no user data to maintain on this new drive.

It would be great if others who did this can chime in as well with their thoughts and experiences. Then maybe we should add these settings to the guide for future reference.

 

New Bios Update for NP870Z5E-X01PT: P03ADH

 

Brilliant, thanks again!!! Couldn't of got here without you! all up and running now, last question (hopefully) so my SSD is now C (small with windows in) and D (big and empty), do you know how to make the D drive the one that automatically used for everything from now on?

 

Hi,

I installed the BIOS Update P05ABU, but during the installation Windows crashed. Apparently due to some graphic card failure.
Fortunatelly, the system is still working.
The BIOS tells me, that its version is P05ABU. But the MICOM Version is still P04ABU. Could somebody who installed the update also look in their bios and confirm this please?

Thanks

 

Great, that's good to hear. As for using the Data drive to save files, I do the following (for each user on the machine):

1) Create a folder structure on the Data drive where you want to save stuff. I have a Data folder with subfolders for myself and my wife as well as a bunch of shared folders (photos etc). I also have an Install folder with all kinds of installation files in a large folder structure.

2) For each of the data folders under C:\Users\username (Documents, Desktop, Favorites, Music, Pictures, Videos) right-click the folder, select Properties and change it's location on the Location tab. I believe you can also just drag the folders to their new location, and Windows will prompt you to update the location.

3) For each of the Windows Libraries (Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos) update which folders are included in each library (right-click the Library and select Properties). For example, the Documents library should include your moved Documents folder. My Music, Pictures and Videos libraries include both my personal Music, Pictures and Videos folder as well as shared folders. So clicking the Pictures library gives a great overview of all the photos in my personal Pictures folder as well as our shared Photos folder. Same goes for my wife. Library settings also affect where Windows Media Player looks for media files.

4) Whenever you save files, make sure you save them on the Data drive (default in your personal folders, but wherever you want them to go).

It's a little more hassle when setting up, but saves me a ton of time over the years because my Data drive stays the same, even as I update, change, replace, backup/restore my Windows partition. I also have a Win7 partition that shares the same Data drive and the same folders. For other users it may not be worth the hassle.

If you decide this isn't for you, it's not too late to change: As long as you haven't begun loading up the Data drive, you can delete that partition and extend the Windows partition into the empty space (using Disk Management). Going the other way can be difficult, though.

 

Hi cinchocaine, welcome to NBR.

When you update the BIOS, it is generally advisable to save the BIOS Update file locally, and run it outside SW Update. Before running it, close all programs, including anything in the taskbar tray that may start churning while you update. Once you saved the BIOS update file locally, you can even disconnect WiFi before running it, to make sure Windows or others don't start downloading or running updates in the background.

Check John's thread linked below for more on this:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/698094-samsung-bios-update-problems.html

I don't have this model myself, hopefully others can tell you their MICOM version.

 

Black is not black but very dark navy. It looks absolutely beautiful, much better than in silver. It has black keyboard with white letters. It cost 4850 pln in polish media markt.

 

Thanks again Dannemand, I went for the second option and everything is running smoothly

I'm not sure what the latest opinions on the graphics drivers are, but I'm having trouble getting the laptop to switch to the 8870 graphics, does anyone know if theres something in particular I need to do to get the laptop switching? I want to see what this baby can do

 

I hear there was trouble with latest WiFi drivers. I haven't had any trouble with the default Windows 8 drivers but SW Update prompts me to install the latest WiFi update 15.8.0.5. Is there still trouble with these drivers?

 

Anyone using the AMD Mobility Radeon 13.10 Beta Driver???

I'm disappointed that Samsung hasn't released any updated graphics drivers for use with the NP770Z5E.

 

I'm using it with the NP770Z5E and everything is good!

 

which way did you install 13.10 ? did you have any issues with anything ?

 

Mine has 8GB in one channel with a slot free

 

I use it too, works perfectly. Check the OP for install info.

 

Updated bios to P05ABU successfully (apparently). Where can I find the current bios/micom version? I really would like to know what this bios fixed - also wondering whether it addressed the issue with the USB3 port.

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

Edit: Nevermind - went into the bios. Both bios and micom are now P05ABU.

 

What issue?

 

Search the thread - when a device is attached to the usb 3.0 port, the laptop becomes laggy and bogged down and the crss.exe process hogs cpu resources.

 

Do the switchable graphics still work, when you are using the Radeon 13.10 beta driver?

Thanks.

 

Interesting. I haven't had that issue and I have two USB3.0 devices plugged into both my USB3.0 slots.

 

They will work fine if you use the mobility 13.10 beta driver