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

Anyone more have this problem?

Graphic Bug HD 8870m :: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim General Discussions
That the post searching for help that i make on steam
Also, the windows8 mail app suffer of black squares :S

 

Hey,

im having the same problem. I bought Skyrim last week on Steam and after starting the game, the screen flickers. Even after quitting the game AND restarting windows, the screen still flickered, so I had to reinstall hintel hd drivers. Playing in windowed mode works well...

Additionally Im also experiencing the problem with the black squares when using the windows mail app.. Im Using amd 14.4 (windows update installed those) and they work fine on Bf3 and BF4... Since Iam not at home, I dont know which Intel hd driver Im using, but Im sure theyve also been installed through windows update.

After installing new intel hd drivers, I had the feeling that games had better fps (using the amd card), can anyone comprehend this?

I hope this helps?!

Greetings

 

Hi, a guy in the steam comunity gives me a link that posibly works, i will try it learn again the link i posted below.
Your screen suffers of ghosting too? For example, this is hwo my steam friend list looks :s
The order or the apps is this:
Chrome - > Steam -> Steam friend list
...my cellphone freeze heavily, and i have to go right now, i will post the photo later!
Also...do u have problems with the screen bright? i cant change it, is only stays at max

 

Screen not a crisp white colour
Hi Guys, read loads of pages of the forum but can't find anything. Bought an Ativ Book 8 at huge expense (as you all know!!!) 6 weeks ago and noticed the whites, even on full brightness (Google background, Facebook background), are not as crisp white as my old Samsung RC520 or RV520. It's been back to Samsung Digicare in the UK for a new panel, came back exactly the same, then back for a new motherboard, exactly the same, and now they are saying there's nothing they can do. Samsung gave me an Uplift Number to get a swap-out at Amazon, but they have no stock. Am I being fussy?, is it the Touchscreen that makes the whites appear a bit grey/brown-ish. Bios? Drivers? It's just not crisp, bright white. Any ideas???? I really wanna keep it but they can now only offer me a refund. Got tons of Samsung stuff, spent a fortune and it's the first time I've been let down. Typical!!! Help

 

Hi!

I have Samsung Ativ Book 8 (NP880Z5E) and today I decided to update BIOS via SW Update from version to P05ADH. After downloading, SW update started CMD window in which I monitored progress and after completing boot block it went to main block. It completed erasing main block and then completely froze on updating main block at 79%. None of the keys or the mouse worked. After reading that BIOS update takes couple of minutes to complete I waited for an hour and the only solution I could find was disconnecting the battery and then pluging the laptop in and pressing the power button. For some users this worked and BIOS was recovered but unfortunately not for me. The power and battery lights turn on, but the screen stays black and nothing can be heard from the inside (no fan noise). Is the BIOS alone damaged or has it damaged the motherboard also and can something like BIOS recovery or anything be done or do I have to send it to Samsung?

I posted this in Samsung BIOS problem thread also, so if this is a double post please delete one of the posts.

Thank you.

 

I recenty noticed that now takes like 1 second to the screen to adapt from a very white image like facebook to a very dark one like the steam background for example...

 

That sucks, I am very sorry to hear that, mislav.

From what you describe, it really does sound like a borked BIOS flash. That should not damage the motherboard hardware, but the BIOS needs to be re-flashed somehow.

You can try the CMOS/BIOS reset procedure described by John on the opening post of the BIOS update thread (more specific steps here). With some luck, you may be able to get it running again.

If you DO get it running and want to try updating again -- and for anyone seeing this: This is why we recommend running the BIOS update outside SW Update, as described in John's post there. Of course we don't know if it would have made a difference in this case, but you want to minimize the risk of any interference during the flash process.

I suggest you wait till John sees this tomorrow, in case he has any ideas (or others, of course). Otherwise you may have to call Samsung for help getting this fixed.

As an exception, I am leaving both your posts for now. We can make a decision about cleanup later.

 

Hey guys I have the Ativ book 8 which has the amd Radeon HD 8770 graphics chip. I am on windows 8.1 and I want to benchmark the graphics card. What software can i use because i think futuremark products dont support windows 8.1. Also could anyone post any benchmarks so that i can compare as i have downloaded the 14.6 beta drivers. Also will i be able to run batman arkham knight? I can run arkham origins no problem but i dont know about arkham knight.
Thanks a lot for your responses

 

yeah, I bought this laptop (770z5e) in march 2013 and since then, the ghosting got worse. I think Im going to inform the samsung service about the problem, maybe they will fix it (unfortunately I think I lost guarantee by openening the laptop and replacing the harddisk?!)

 

Need some help. I want to play CS GO in 4:3 aspect ratio WITH black bars, but everytime I change the resolution it just stretches to the full screen. How can I configure it to show the black bars instead?

 

after updating 8.1 and (possibly) 14.6b the computer is freezing to a point i can click, but cant close any windows nor restart or do anything, hard reset helps only! A problem others have had or am i only one?
another problem i see, first when i installed 14.6b all was good, since i play bf4 and star citizen only, its a huge boost. BF4 runs smooth with vsync on 60fps (but lately its been dropping and hwinfo show throttling on gpu instead being in constant 1197mhz when i play games) but now i rarely get 60fps, always in range of 34-46fps, strange
maybe i should just try to re install win and all (ps im on older bios P04..)

 

driver version 14.100.0.0, just updated few days ago, no more fps drops, no need to reconnect power supply

 

Is Windows 8.1 a solution for some problems? o it just make more problems? Im thinking seriously in send my notebook to Samsung due the screen problemas, mainly the ghosting

 

While there is almost no end to the problems that Windows 8.1 updates have caused to many users, it has become significantly better since its first release last October, both thanks to updates from Microsoft and from Samsung. I highly suggest you study our Windows 8.1 update thread (linked below) if you haven't already. Read the opening post, then scan the last 10 pages or so for relevant posts.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/734915-windows-8-1-update-issues-discussion.html

On most models it has been important to update everything (BIOS, Windows Update, SW Update) both before and after running the actual 8.1 update. That is also in Samsung's official update instructions. BIOS updates in particular can make the difference between a successful update and a complete failure.

And it is critical that you make backups before updating (Acronis, Samsung Recovery Solution, Windows Recovery, or whatever) so that you can roll back if something fails. This IS, after all, one of the riskiest updates in recent Microsoft history.

Many Win8 users (maybe even a majority) have managed to update by now, myself included -- on a model which isn't even supported by Samsung for Win8.1. If drivers from 3rd party OEMs or from Samsung don't work after the update, I highly recommend uninstalling them and giving Microsoft's drivers a try (built into Win8.1 or from Windows Update).

That said, I don't think I remember anybody reporting that Win8.1 solved a technical problem they had in Win8. The reasons to update from Win8 to 8.1 are (A) you want, understandably, to be on the latest from Microsoft, or (B) you want specific features in Win8.1, or (C) you are about to do a clean install anyway.

The ability to boot straight to Desktop and the better organizing of the Start Screen are indeed improvements over Win8. I personally use Win8.1 the same as I did Win8: with a 3rd party Start Menu product that allows me to use it just as I did Win7 -- but with the performance benefits of Win8.x. I never see the Metro stuff, and I have disabled the hot corners (except Charms). Others users have adjusted to the new hybrid UI -- which may pay off in the long run.

But that's a different discussion. My point is merely that you update to Win8.1 because you want it or feel you have to -- and you ought to prepare well for it. But whether it will fix more issues for you than it introduces, is a crapshoot.

 

Hi guys, I have a weird problem.
The LED on the WIFI fn toggle button doesn't work. I can turn on and off the WIFI just fine using the fn hotkey, but the LED just won't turn on when WIFI is on. I have the latest version of Easy Settings (2.0.072) and I got all my wifi drivers from the Intel website. I have the NP780z5e model.
I suspect it's because of the recent bios update I have just done, from P06ABU to P07ABU, but I'm not really sure. Can anyone else with the P07ABU bios for the np780z5e confirm this?

 

Does anyone else have the problem of glitchy graphics with the beta graphics drives? Apps like Mail have black bars appearing now and then

 

Well, that one doesn't work in my case (did before the bios update). The memory chips on their modules can vary during time, so it may vary per module.

 

Thank you for those reports. So we cannot even rely on a specific brand and product number to work consistently

I hope everybody who has this issue (who either lost 8GB of their RAM or are about to buy 8GB of additional RAM) are bugging Samsung about this on a regular basis.

 

Just checking: Are you using Win8 or Win8.1? If so, using Easy Settings (which is written for Win7) could very well be the reason for the F12 LED not working. You want Settings (written for Win8.x). Make sure to uninstall Easy Settings and reboot before installing Settings. OTOH, if you are running Win7 (or if you meant to say Settings, not Easy Settings) you can disregard this.

Currently, the latest Settings version 2.3.0.17 can be found in SW Update under model NP940X5J. Those who have Battery Life Extender (NP780/880 models) will find that Settings versions 2.1.x and newer do NOT have a tab to control it, but BLE is still working and can be controlled in BIOS. (The same is true with ExpressCache, for those with older Series 7 Chronos models: Settings versions 2.1.x and newer don't have a tab to control it, but the feature works). Settings versions 2.0.x still have BLE (and ExpressCache) tabs, and the latest version 2.0.0.72 can be found in SW Update under Win8.1 drivers for model NP880Z5E-X03CA.

After updating or re-installing Settings, always make sure to redo any power settings and Adaptive Brightness tweaks. In particular will the Wireless Adapter Settings be reset to Max Power Saving (on Battery) which can cause disconnects and weak WiFi performance on some WiFi adapters. I set this one to Low Power Saving (or even Max Performance) as described in the WiFi Remedies thread. With some Settings versions, Max Processor State will be reset to 50% (on Battery). And Adaptive Brightness will be re-enabled, preventing manual brightness adjustment and/or reducing the maximum brightness; disable it as described in the posts here and here. These tweaks must be done both in normal mode and Silent Mode, since Windows stores them independently for the Samsung Optimized and Power Saver profiles. These are classic gotchas, which is why I feel compelled to repeat them.

 

Hi all! I have missed a few hundreds pages here and I apologize but I really don't have the time to read them all , so I'll ask directly: if I remember correctly, at first there were some EFI-related problems booting linux-based software...Does it still stand? I'm asking because I would like to create a partition and install Linux in it for dual boot..How can I safely do it without messing my windows and data partitions up and bricking the laptop? Thank you in advance

 

Sorry, I meant Settings and I'm on Windows 8. I'm running Settings 2.0.0.72. What settings version do you recommend for the np780 on Windows 8? Because I'm checking the one for the NP940X5J model and SW update says it's only for Windows 8.1.

UPDATE: I uninstalled Settings 2.0.0.72 and installed in its place Settings 2.3.0.17 and the LED light is still not working.
Maybe it's because I replaced my Canadian keyboard with the American version that the LED WIFI light is malfunctioning.

 

Got it, thank you. And sorry that the newer Settings didn't fix the WiFi LED light for you. Do you have Airplane Mode driver installed? That's basically what allows Fn-F12 to work -- and maybe it is necessary to control that LED. I doubt that your replacing the keyboard could cause this, if everything else if working correctly.

Otherwise I would say Settings version 2.0.0.72 (I know, that's what you already had) is a good choice for your model, since you have Battery Life Extender, and it includes a tab to control that. Newer Settings versions generally do a better job of defeating Adaptive Brightness in one place, if that is an issue for you. Settings version 2.0.0.72 and earlier should have Samsung Fast Start enabled (automatic wake-up on lid open) while Settings versions 2.1.x and newer have it disabled.

Early versions of Win8.1 were incompatible with Settings versions 2.0.x -- I think that is why Samsung created a 2.1.x branch for it (and newer). But later updates of Win8.1 made it compatible with both 2.0.x and the new versions.

 

Thanks for your kind and extensive help Dannemand. I reinstalled Settings 2.0.0.72 and the airplane mode drover for win 8 but my led is still not working. All my other LEDs, the Touchpad fn toggle, caps lock, and even the fn toggle button, all work except the WiFi light. Maybe I'll just wait for the next bios update, unless there's a way to rollback a bios update. I have a gut feeling its the bios update that borked the led.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

Got it. What happens if you manually enable Airplane Mode in the Charms menu? ( Charms -> Settings -> PC Settings -> Network -> Airplane mode in Win8.1; it's a little different in Win8, I just don't remember exactly and don't want to boot it right now). Airplane Mode (and that LED) control all radios, not just WiFi.

 

Well after 3 trips to Samsung and no help on here it's going back for a refund. Maybe I'll look for a non-touchscreen version.

 

Hey guys. i Own a NP880Z-X01 witch has a 8gb solder on. I want to upgrade to 16gb (games and media work eats 8gb) and i am looking at This one

Is there a better option? im also upgrading to a Samsung Evo 840 250ssd. Is there a better choice here?

Ty in advanced.

 

There is an issue with the latest BIOS where some types of RAM are incompatible and won't be recognized. I wish I could give you a list of brands and models to buy or avoid, but it seems fairly random. You want to contact Samsung and ask them which RAM will work -- not because they necessarily have a better idea, but in order to keep applying pressure on them to fix this issue.

 

Alright then. Then i only do the SSD upgrade at this point. I will join the case and send them an Email asking for a list.

Ty for fast replay.

 

Hello everyone! I finally managed to legally get an ISO for Windows 8.1 so I'll proceed with a clean install, but I'm having a problem here. I won't wipe the Samsung partitions, but I still want to back them up as Factory Image, just in case I make some mistakes during the process. As first thing I entered the BIOS and disabled Secure Boot and Fast Bios, and I set CSM&UEFI OS. Then I plugged in my Sandisk Ultra USB 3.0 32GB and booted into Recovery with F4, but when I click on Backup it tells me that there isn't any device plugged to save the backup image. I have tried with all the USB ports, both 3.0 and 2.0, and I tried with the USB stick formatted in NTFS at first, then in FAT32 (just in case), but every time the Recovery doesn't recognize my USB stick. Am I missing something?

 

That is sound precaution you are showing there, wanting to make a Bootable Factory Image backup before Win8.1 clean install. (For newcomers: Such a backup will allow you to re-image the disk to complete factory state, no matter how messed up it becomes; the same as if you were sending it back to Samsung. Well, almost the same, there is one small difference . Use the first two steps of this guide.)

Two thoughts come to mind regarding the USB problem: (A) Make sure the USB is inserted before you power on and boot into Samsung Recovery with F4. And (B) disabling SecureBoot and setting OS Mode Selection=CSM & UEFI OS should not be necessary to create the backup -- although I don't see how they can hurt it. I mention those settings in the guide linked above only when you TEST that the finished backup afterwards, to make sure it will boot. Even that shouldn't be necessary, but reports are mixed.

The only other explanation I can think of is an incompatible USB stick. Some have reported that USB3 sticks didn't work, regardless of which port they used, others reported that they did. A USB2 port should be more compatible. What we DO know, is that the USB stick must be one that behaves like a Removable Drive, not a Fixed Disk. If you open its Properties in This PC (Win8.x Explorer) it should say Type: Removable Disk. This normally wouldn't prevent Samsung Recovery from seeing the USB stick, but will prevent its compatibility with the Create Boot Disk option in Recovery.

If none of this works, and before going out to get another stick, you can try creating it from the Samsung Recovery Windows app instead, and see if that makes a difference. If that fails too, I am afraid I have no other suggestion than trying a different USB stick.

 

I just got a SW update and said graphics driver is available. It is 828 MB, VERSION 10.18.10.3304

Now, I have the newest Windows 8.1 update I believe and I remember months ago, when I did a SW update on the graphics driver, my graphics booted up as a blank screen. Can anyone confirm that this update has fixed the issue?
But more so, how can I back up everything? Thanks.

 

Creating a restore point using Control Panel > Recovery before doing the driver update would give a roll-back option but you may prefer the Create a recovery drive option (also in control Panel > Recovery) which, I assume, creates a bootable external device and would get round the potential problem of being confronted by a blank screen.

Alternatively, try the Samsung Recovery Solution which should make a full backup. If in doubt, do both (and make sure you can boot the backups before doing the driver update).

John

 

Update regarding Book 8 not recognizing additional 8 Gig memory. After getting the run around for weeks Samsung is asking me to send my Book 8 into them which I am unable to do at the moment. They claim the issue is with the bios not installing properly on my machine. They are not preparing any list of supported part numbers because they claim any standard 8 Gig DDR3 1600 Mbs should work...

 

Thank you for the update and your work on this. It is progress, of sorts: Either Samsung are right, and the problem is caused by incomplete BIOS updates (I can see it happen, but I still doubt it). Or they're wrong and will now finally have to admit it and do something about it. Either way could lead to a fix.

I suppose re-flashing the BIOS could be a way to test this. It is described in our BIOS Rollback thread, but is tricky and not without risks. Please read the entire thread before attempting.

 

I am going to hang tight until early September - I can live with 8 Gig until then - and hope a future Bios fixes it.. If not, I will let Samsung fix it...

 

Thank you again for your help! I tried again and this time I succeded in doing the backup. I set OS Mode Selection=UEFI and enabled the Secure Boot again, but I don't think this made the difference. I found out that when I enter the Recovery if I click on "Backup" it will tell me that there are no available drives. BUT if i click directly on "Factory Image" instead, it works and lets me select my USB drive for the Backup. My guess is that if I click on Backup it assumes I want to do the Disk Image because it's the first option in the list, and since it doesn't fit in my 32GB USB stick it tells me I can't do it. I did the backup in half an hour (I wonder why a USB 3.0 stick plugged in a USB 3.0 port transfers files at ~9MB/s...) and checked I can boot from it so I'm ready to go. Do you suggest I just format my C drive or is there any other partition I can delete and still keep working recovery? (Here's a screenshot from Mini Tool Partition Wizard. D: DATI is a data partition I've created and that I must keep)

 

Yes, yes, you definitely need to use the Factory Image tab in Recovery to make the factory image backup. Otherwise it will make a complete system backup, which, as you pointed out, doesn't fit on a USB stick. I always refer to this post and this Samsung guide. I don't like either that it took 30mins, since slow backup is one of the predictors of a corrupt factory image (another is USB3 sticks). But you tested that it will boot. Hopefully you will never need it.

I would definitely backup your data before proceeding. You never know. This is a clean install, after all.

You can format Windows RE Tools (499MB), MSR (128MB) and Windows OS (149GB). But I suggest you leave the EFI System partition (300MB) in place. The two partitions in front of your Data partition (450MB and 350MB) are from previous Win8.1 attempts and can be deleted. Of course leave your Data partition and the two SAMSUNG_REC partitions.

 

If i try to update the integrated HD4000 graphics card using the intel website driver after when my computer restards i can't adjust anymore the brigthness of the screen.

If i try to install again the brightness patch through the SW Update it looks like it's already installed and i have no idea how to solve this problem.

 

Thank you for these precious instructions. I did the clean install following Obyboby's tutorial in the OP, disabled all Windows Updates and forbade Windows to search drivers for new devices. Then I installed all the drivers from SW Update (graphic drivers included), I rebooted, then I applied the brightness fix and rebooted again. Everything works fine now, brightness control included Now I'm installing all the Windows Updates, and when I finish that I will definitely backup this configuration; I'm not sure if it's better to create a Restore Point or to backup the full system through Recovery though (if I do this before installing my personal software it shouldn't be much havier than the clean Windows, right? Just some drivers and Windows Updates added...).

 

Excellent, very well done! Glad to hear you got it working. I do wonder if we'll ever find out why your brightness worked after a clean install, but no amount of driver cleanouts and changes, adaptive brightness tweaks or registry hacks would make it work on the factory installation. It's a pattern, though, you're not the only one. (Others: See alfling's post here in our Win8.1 Update thread and the subsequent discussion).

I do exactly the same as you suggest: Make a backup of my clean Windows installation with just the basic drivers BEFORE I start tweaking it and loading it up with programs. That makes it a snap to restore if it gets messy or I suspect malware.

Windows restore points are fine, but they have been known to fail or be gone just when you need them most. I personally use a partition imaging tool for this (Terabyte Unlimited for my part, but many here recommend Acronis). As long as you only backup and restore the Windows partition, it should work without breaking Recovery.

Using Samsung Recovery Solution for this backup is also fine. But note that IF Recovery should break (so you cannot use F4) and you have to use your bootable USB Factory Image to re-create Recovery, the entire HDD will be wiped in the process. So make sure to save your backups on an external drive.

 

HI folks I am new to here and I one question for now.

As I have noticed, the SW update mostly update Samsung software. However, if I wanted to upgrade the driver for my ati card. Do you guys perfer me to download the driver from ATI web sites and then do a install there or wait for the driver on the SW update.

However, I dont see SW update updates the ATI driver tho.

Let me know.

Thanks.

 

That's pretty weird. I have a Sandisk Extreme USB 3.0 32GB too, and the backup procedure reached a writing speed of 113 MB/s!

 

Welcome to the forum!

Samsung so far has only released two amd/ati drivers. One for windows 8 (12.9, almost 2 years old) and one for windows 8.1 (13.3, more than 1 year old). It is recommended to install newer drivers, offered by amd themselves, for much better performance, in post #1 of this thread are links and tutorials on how to get you up to date. (At this point in time I would recommend 14.4 whql for best performance and stability).

14.6 beta offers mantle support but has major problems with cryengine games like crysis and warface and windows metro ui does not work as it should.

 

I ended up doing a backup with Acronis through a bootable pendrive...An image of my C partition gave me a file of just 7.37 GB with maximum level of compression

Do you have an SSD? Because I'm still using the original hard disk

 

Well yes, at that time I was backing up prior to formatting and doing a Win 8.1 clean install, so the data transfer was being performed from a 512 GB 840 pro SSD to the Sandisk USB 3.0 drive.

Anyway, I'm getting tired of my laptop randomly freezing from time to time. And by saying freezing, I mean that the screen will stop responding and there is no way to get back to work unless I force shutdown and restart the machine. Not even a BSOD is showing up, it just freezes, that's it :/
This time it happened while I was about to remove a USB drive through the "safely remove hardware" icon in the tray area. As soon as I clicked on the little arrow to show the icon, the computer froze. Other applications that were running at that time were AutoCAD (with no drawings open, just the program itself), and Chrome with about 6 tabs open.

This is really annoying me and I wonder what can be the cause of these sudden crashes. I'm not sure it is due to Windows 8.1, I'm afraid it is still related to the video card's drivers... I was tempted to try and update to 14.4 WHQL, but I'm still not sure that would help, leaving me with a big mess with the drivers and no improvements.. What would you guys suggest?

 

I don't know if that might be the cause, but if I were you I'd create e Restore Point and try with the driver update. For what it's worth, I don't think it's due to Windows 8.1

 

Well, I might give it a shot when I have some free time. Cause this stupid video card is driving me crazy.. Sometimes, while I'm drafting, it will suddenly switch off and Intel graphics kick in, slowing me down and making it impossible to use the software without making me want to smash the whole laptop

 

Hi pranktank ... thanks for always keeping this thread updated !! ..... i have a doubt i hope you can help me with that, or anybodys help would be apreciated !


I have the ativ book 8 US VERSION (im in windows 8, because i do not want to lose that extra battery with w8.1) , however my driver version for the ati is just 9.3.5.0 , not even 12,9 official as you mention. when i open sw update is doesnot show a new uptade for that driver , it only shows updates for bios, settings, support center y nsync ... do you know why could be that???? ........................ since i am newbie i do not feel confident enought to install drivers manually specially since i used pretty often the switch card option.

Thank you very much in advance,
have a good day.

 

9.3.5.0 is just another code for 12.9. . It's the most recent official driver for windows 8 from samsung, if you want more recent samsung drivers you'll have to update to windows 8.1.

 

Hi guys, I have problem that after startup or wakeup from sleep, about 30% all I gt i black screen and the computer seems to be stuck. However, this does not happen with connected external LCD using HDMI and disabled internal LCD. Startup goes normal, I see the rotating dots by windows 8.1 and then when the welcome screen with login is supposed to show, only black screen. I tryed to login blindly and shut it down by it does not work. Any idea how to solve that? Many thanks for any hints

780z5e-S01UB with the lates BIOS from 2014/04/21, win 8.1 x64, 12GB RAM, samsung 840 EVO 250GB, latest WHQL drivers for intel VGA (10.18.10.3621) from 2014/05/17, AMD GPU 14.4 drivers. WLAN replaced by atheros 946x with latest drivers. Brightness fix installed and working