Confused :( Problems, Partions questions, W8 and W7

Hello, I bought a Laptop Samsung NP350V5CA0EUK - Samsung 350V5C 15.6-inch Intel Core i5 3210M 2.5GHz Processor, 6GB RAM, 750GB HDD, Integrated Graphics, and Has Windows 8 PRE Installed.

I have questions, and problems, about this and bit confused and lost .

1) I will be Dual boot Windows 7 to this - BUT Before that i face a problem , Why on EARTH Are there 5 partions? why? and why are there 3 recovery partitions? - How do i "see" them in My computer - All are hidden except the 571gb one.



Another problem is the touch Pad, on my old laptop i could use 1 finger touch the pad and SIMPLE Scroll down?? --- How do i get this to work? on Samsung? laptop? Its so frustrating.

3) Do Samsung have a OFFICAL Fourm? rather then the Q & A

Thank You for helping.

 

Start by reading this post and the other links in it. They will help you understand what is what and why.

John

 

Hello makrhuges, welcome to NBR and to the Samsung forum.

It is good that you ask!

What you're seeing in terms of partitions is how all Win8 PCs are delivered nowadays. It is part of the switch to UEFI and GPT disks, from the old BIOS and MBR disks used in previous Windows versions.

Before you start installing and changing anything, you want to read up on this a little, otherwise you could easily hurt yourself. New members post here daily (sometimes several each day, just in the Samsung forum) who have experience installing WinXP or Win7, and found themselves in deep water by not understanding UEFI and GPT.

The post here provides some overview as well as links to helpful articles on the subject. It also contains links on how to backup your Recovery, which is highly advisable.

Please study these before you proceed!

Next, since you want to dual-boot Win7 and Win8, you have a tough decision to make: Win7 is safest to install in the good old BIOS/MBR mode, but converting to that wipes your disk, including the current Win8 installation, any data, and your Recovery. If you want to pursue that route, this Win7 install guide is where you start (after making those backups). Then add a clean install of Win8 afterwards onto a second partition. Of course you must have both Win7 and Win8 install media to do this.

This is how my NP700Z3A runs: Win7 and Win8 on two different partitions in BIOS/MBR mode.

It is not completely impossible to stay in the current UEFI/GPT mode and install Win7 on a second partition, but it has several complexities (adding an older Windows without messing up the current one) and even some risks. Let me know if you want to pursue this, once you have studied and understood the implications.

Other options are to run Win7 from a Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) partition, or even as a Virtual machine under Win8.

Regarding your touchpad, check our Trackpad thread, and particularly this post (within that thread).

Let us know what you decide and about your progress

 

Massive Thanks for that! and To John!

My Laptop is the Samsung NP350V5CA0EUK and was released in October 2012, How likely is the BIOS Brick problem am i going to face?
NP350V5C - OVERVIEW | SUPPORT | SAMSUNG UK


I definitely, don't want to Use the virtual Drive

I also have a Update for SW Update for BIOS?? Should i install that?- nervous because i dont want the update to ruin anything else - im guessing Samsung dont have like a log/detail of whats inside?


Its either Use the Old MBR or install W7 on UEFI.


If i follow the safe root i have some questions:

1) I understand all partitions will be wiped and gone, and i will have to install everything again:
My main concern is that, I have 2 spare W7 Keys, but None W8
If i wipe everything , Will i have to Buy a new W8 Key? i dont want to install W8 New (use my "new" pre install key " and then get a error saying its in use) How will it affect my Product Key for W8

2) What exactly "does" is a recovery partition. In short, it restores the laptop to factory state, clean install of W8 PLUS It AUTOMATICALLY adds the Official Drivers ? right? Anything else am i missing? What else does it do?

Is that ^ the same as , If i manually install W8 and Manually, put the drivers my self ( just taking a bit longer and not automatic - does a recovery do anything else?)

Now the UEFI Method

- The Disk is in GPT and i Could change it to the Old MBR

1) Is there any difference in PERFORMANCE, Speed and BOOT Time between the two? I understand old is restricted to 4 partitions, whereas later is 100+


Thank You very much

 

Also, Yeah thanks for that post, but it didnt work i dont have that folder or the file. I have the synaptics, touchpad

 

Oh, didn't realize your model had Synaptics. Now I do

I responded here in the trackpad thread. Thanks for your good forum discipline, keeping that discussion over there!

Good questions on the install issues. See my answers in red, and my final recommendation below.

Personally, if I were in your situation, I would choose the BIOS/MBR route. Do the following:

1) Use Recovery to create two different Factory Image backups as described in that post linked by John. One bootable on a 32GB USB stick, the other on an external HDD. That way you can wipe the disk and still get back, even if one of the backups should fail.

2) Convert the disk to MBR, set you BIOS options, and install Win7 as described in this Win7 install guide (the same I linked before), creating a new partition for it. It will probably create an additional SYSTEM (MSR) partition with its boot manager. Please follow that guide closely, it will save some time for us both

3) Install Win8 onto a second partition. It should update the existing Win7 SYSTEM partition with its own, newer boot manager, and automatically provide dual boot for both. Mostly use the same install guide (it mentions Win8 differences), although for drivers use this post as guidance.

4) Create a Data partition on the remaining space.

5) Done.

Of course I cannot guarantee anything on your particular PC, I have no first hand experience with that model. But I think this should be a fairly smooth process.

Please keep us posted

 

Hello, thank you very much for all your help and advice, and sorry for the late reply,

but unfortunately, i have to put everything on Hold im having other problems with this laptop, Not sure if this is normal, but i tested the USB Ports, and they all seem "smaller" its quite difficult to plug a USB in co parred to my old 2 laptops, ( will make a video and show)

and another problem is the Fan randomly comes on and off sometimes, for 2 secs or 2 minutes ( again nothing intensive, just on chrome) Should i make 2 new thread? 1 new thread or post here?

Thank You

 

New Samsung laptops sometimes have incredibly tight ports, that need a VERY firm push for the connector to go in all the way. They tend to become looser after awhile, as they get worn a bit. Of course if it's so bad you think you might break it, you really should contact the store or Samsung service -- before you actually DO break it.

Fan behavior depends on which Power Mode you are in (Normal mode, Silent Mode or Eco Mode). Check the posts here and here for overview of Samsung power management.

Also, googling site:notebookreview.com/samsung np350 fan revealed the thread linked below, which may contain some answers (I didn't study it myself).

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...sung-np350e7c-a01us-fan-speed-controller.html

We don't really have an Owners Lounge for the NP350 series, but you're probably better of posting any fan-related follow-up questions in that thread.

 

Thanks for that info, and Thank you very very much! for all the help and replies you gave!

Yeah, it was very very tight port, While the laptop was off, and charging i got a USB and plugged it in and out in and out 4-5 times on each port, and it has made it slightly looser.


Yeah, i will look into, that. for the fan info, thanks for that