Advice needed plse Q35 Vista compatibility

Hi,

newbie here.

I recently purchased the Q35 Red from a well know UK retailer after reading reviews and like the features offered. I also looked at the Samsung website which stated that there was an instant AV station which plays music, films etc which boots up independently of windows. The laptop has a separate on/off button (AVnow)too for this.

My Q35 comes pre installed with Vista Home premium.

After transferring music tracks onto the AVstation I went to open up the AV station using the separate access key(after turning off the laptop first).

The Av station opened up but it also opened up windows too. If I closed the AV STation, the desktop of windows etc was on screen.

I spoke to one Samsung IT support helper who informed me that Q35 Vista was not compatible with the AVstation and that he was not sure whether Samsung would rectify this.He also said Samsung were fully aware of this. He mentioned that the Vista will open windows when opening the AV station and that Samsumg do not have the software,patches etc at this stage to make it independant, if ever!


I have now spoken to the retailer who seem pretty vague on this issue and have not been particularly forthcoming on info.

I went into another retailer to check whether a test Q35 with Vista also opened up windows alongside the AV station. It did. When I asked a SA whether that was supposed to happen, he told me that was correct.

Now I am really confused. If there is a member who owns a Q35 with Windows XP, I would appreciate it, if they could tell me what I should expect when using the Instant AV now button. Is is only the AV station that opens up, or does windows also boot up alongside it?

I have been getting conflicting info and would appreciate a clarification from a Q35 owner who has the XP version. I also noticed that there was no recovery CD included for the AV station in my laptop contents. I believe this is an orange CD included with the XP version.


Thanks.

 

Welcome.

I can only give half an answer. My Q35 with XP Pro came with AVstation and has an installation CD. However, when I reinstalled Windows I chose to not reinstall AVstation. It is an underwhelming piece of software with limited functionality. It doesn't have the DVD playback options of PowerDVD (did you get the Cyberlink software?); one of our members recently reported that limitations on mp3 playback were by design. I establised early on that using AVstation Now doesn't give more playback time on battery than using PowerDVD.

To be honest, I don't think you are missing anything which is worth having. It is also likely that Samsung UK don't completely know the configuration of computers in the latest shipments and it is also plausible that some versions of the Q35 have AVstation and some do not. The published specs for the Q35 are somewhat out of date. It was a surprise to everyone (including Samsung UK) when the X60 plus arrived with the X1700 GPU.

Perhaps I have a minority view. Let us see what others have to say on this subject.

Stay around.

John

 

Hi John

Thank you for your opinion and thoughts on this subject.

I suppose that at the very least there are other DVD functions (I do have the cyberlink DVD) etc on this model.

I do feel a bit cheated as there was no notice given that there would be changes in the functions on the Vista Installed Q35 either by the retailer or by Samsung. As this is a new purchase for me and my first lap top, I felt a little disappointed that a feature that Samsung advertises doesn't quite do as it says. Also the separate function button AVNow would be essentially defunct.

The retailer has mentioned that I could return the product, therefore I would be interested to hear from other users their opinions on this and whether they have heard any other compromises with the Vista version which I might have problems with.

I would also like to know from owners with XP versions whether their AVSation boots up windows or not so as to clarify the difference in opinions from Samsung and other retailers-all giving different answers!

If anyone has a vista installed version or has upgraded to Vista from XP, I would also be interested if they have had any issues with compatibility.

Thanks.

 

If you like the Q35 but feel that you are not getting value for money due to non-functioning AVstation software, then an option is to return your red Q35 and get a silver one from PC World. This may also not have AVstation, and has a slightly lower specification, but has very attractive pricing.

John

 

I've formatted my X60plus and installed Vista business edition (my work paid for that) onto it and still have the AVStation installed which still works when I press one of the 3 keys to boot into it, but to be honest John is right about how good or useful it is. The only reason I even keep it on the drive is to use the Hotkey Customizer from this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=107090 so that the 3 keys actually function in Vista and aren't just dead.

 

John, Kravex,

Thank you for your opinions.

I might hang on to the Red Q35 for a bit to see whether Samsung will provide the updates. Also aesthetically I like the look of the Red too compared to the silver version

I do hope I won't find any other imcompatibility issues with Vista. There has been a lot of scaremongering recently about Vista and being that I'm not a complete techie about these things, I wanted to ensure that my laptop would not end up obsolete or unfuntionable in some way in the near future because of unseen issues.

Apart from one IT support at Samsung, customer services and Samsung seemed to be a bit cagey about this particular model.

 

I've got a little feedback from someone who is a little nearer Samsung than myself. The information is that Samsung are aware of the problem with Vista and AVstation and have it on their action list. However, that action list must be quite long since they have yet to publish any Vista drivers for models such as the X60plus.

Both my Q35 and my X60plus have a sticker below the keyboard saying "Designed for Windows XP. Vista capable" which, when read in conjunction with the sticker on the bottom of the computer which includes "Since some applications do not support Windows Vista, you will need to purchase another version of the applications", could be interpreted as saying that it might not work properly with Vista. I presume that the Q35 which is sold with Vista is free of such disclaimers.

The only assurance I can offer you is that Vista compatibility will improve with time as people sort out the remaining problems. The arrival of Vista hasn't been a surprise, but manufacturers have still had a lot of difficulty getting their drivers ready in time.

Something I was recently pointed to, but I haven't tried out, is Microsoft's Virtual PC software. This might get round the Vista compatibility problem. But if you have to go out and buy another operating system for your virtual PC then it isn't much help.

John

 

John,

Your help is much appreciated. At least it looks like Samsung are fully aware of this and hopefully will rectify this and any other potential problems.

I was slightly put out initially with Samsung when I was given the impression that as one of the first consumers to have the Q35 with Vista installed that I was a 'Guinea Pig'!

Even if the AV Station is not the best or biggest feature on the model, it would have been helpful to have been notified of an issue or at the very least a bit more reasurrance from Samsung and the retailer.

Apart from that, I am happy with the Q35 (so far )

 

I understand the disappointment when your purchase doesn't meet all your expectations. I recently had a similar situation when I couldn't get my Samsung Q35 to run for more than 5 hours when Samsung say 7 hours. Actually, 5 hours is pretty good, now I am used to it. The X60 plus munches batteries in comparison.

Our problem, as customers, is that we seem to be the first people to actually check what is in the box. Samsung UK pass the boxes onto the distributors once they arrive and the distributors stick labels on and send them out to customers. The major parts of the specification (eg CPU) are known in advance, but no one except the customer sees the details.

The best you can do, in the circumstances, is to post here the exact details of what you received so that others are informed. You should also mention the model number (is it NP-Q35A001/SUK?).

Anyway, apart from the AVstation glitch, I'm glad to hear that you are happy with your purchase. Did you notice that you have a black keyboard instead of the silver one in the sales photos? Personally, I prefer the black one and it is less likely to wear out (the silver is paint).

John

 

Hi

The model number is NP-Q35A001/SUK.

The keyboard is black (which I don't mind either)

Content DVDs in my box include 1 pink DVD Samsung System Software Media (Windows Vista) and 1 blue DVD System Recovery Media (Windows Vista Home Premium)

No recovery DVD for the AVstation. (was an orange DVD in the XP Pro version I believe)