Guide On ExpressCache: "I Want My ExpressCache Back!" Edition

Well, it seems that is up and running!

Now, i need fix Switchable Graphics and Suspended LED.

 

Hmmm Condusiv Technologies (the Program Files folder name in the screendump). Mine is Diskeeper Corporation. A Google search revealed that the company changed their name. Presumably all newer versions of ExpressCache are now Condusiv. I should update my posts to reflect this.

 

I've just found this thread...I had stupidly formatted the ExpressCache and tried many things, including a variety of programs. I could get noting to work. But your method worked like a charm. Great stuff.

 

Hi.

I just followed the guide above here. And it didn't work. Expresscashe wont create a partition, it still say unlocated space.
I tried all the steps again but it just won't work. What can I try now? Also I can't seem to get the Macdisk app to run either?

Best regards, Wall.

 

Hey guys,

I bought a new Chronos 7 Series (the model with already Win8 installed and 16GB expresscache) deleted all partitions and installed a fresh Win7. After that I also hat a lot trouble to get the expresscache running.
I have to confess when I installed Win7 I was not very familiar with the expresscache and so I formated the ssd also with NTFS. After installing expresscache-driver and easy settings software I experienced the problems with expresscache and I found this forum here.
My problems were exactly the same like described here.
I went completely through this thread, tried the steps of the orignial post, but it did not work. It already began with the fact, that MacDisk reported access-errors and was not able to format the ssd with HFS. So I tried Hirens Boot CD with its mini-linux to get the ssd formated. Due to its size bigger than 2 GB I could only format it with HFS+.
But all attempts did not work, I always got the error message as posted in the link.
Further I have to confess, that I underestimated the advice in the original post, to delete the partition on the ssd via diskmgmt.svc.
After installing Win7 a second time I made the step a deleted the partition of the ssd.
And after all this bla bla at the beginning comes the important point that solved the problem for me. I left the ssd unpartioned and run the "eccmd -partition" command.
And voila, it worked. I could read all the infos of the ssd but It was stated, that the HFS volume is not mounted. But one reboot also solved this problem.
And suprissingly, after the reboot also the expresscache tab in the easy settings software appeared.

So, to bring to a point, the SSD volume need to be unpartioned (the partitioning will be done by expresscache itself) and I did not need an uninstallation and reinstallation of the expresscache driver and the easy settings software.

Maybe this helps anybody.

Cheers Jens


PS.: Sorry for my English

PPS.: maybe it is worth a note, that when you run "eccmd -?" you get displayed all the options for this command

 

I just installed Windows 8 on my NP700Z5C 15.6" laptop and used the program Settings (new version of Easy Settings) to download ExpressCache. I installed it, but it's not showing up on Settings. Can someone help?

 

Same. The new Settings app is basically empty compared to Easy Settings and did you also notice the SW Update update app is missing most updates?

And then I see this:

C:\Program Files\Condusiv Technologies\ExpressCache>eccmd -INFO
ExpressCache Command Version 1.0.94.0
Copyright® 2010-2012 Condusiv Technologies.
Date Time: 11/12/2012 23:25:40:615 (WIN8-ULTRABOOK #0)

Failed to retrieve product license information.

 

I have upgraded my HDD to a Segate Momentus XT (with its own 8GB SSD). Now this drive dosent use expresscache (TM) but it does cache from what I can tell doing what expresscache does. Sill tweaking settings but is there any point in having expresscache running with this HDD? I did remove expresscache and was using that 8GB for my system page file and speedboost but am wondering if I am missing a performance gain so I just now reinstalled expresscache and got it running again.

Any opinions as to if I should keep the expresscache drive or use it for my page file?

 

Hello,

I am the user on Samsung Ultrabook 5 Series NP530U4C-S01ID. Currently I have installing Windows 8 Pro who I got from windows upgrade offer. I have installing new SW update and updating the BIOS to P07AAJ and installing all drivers with supporting Windws 8 Pro. I have look there are unstable system until I have trying disable/off for EC on Settings. Then I reboot my laptop. After that I found get so long on booting. I've check on Disk Management. I am surpise that Disk 1 (iSSD) don't initialized. I try to initialized but I got error with that mention "The request perform I/O error". Are they (iSSD) has broken ? Ca anyone help me to resolve this ?

Thanks.
Akbar.

 

I experienced the same thing and after a second reboot ExpressCache was visible in Settings.

You could also try going to the folder where ExpressCache is insalled and double click on ExpressCache.exe then another reboot.

Worked for me, I now have the app running and can see the INFO output fine (Run cmd as administrator via right click on lower left corner of windows 8 screen).

 

Is i possible to use ExpressCache to cache files from the non-OS HDD? I figured being pointless using a cahce with a real SSD, it might be worth using the cache with a secondary drive in my NP700G7C so that my games files are cached.

 

This sounds like a hardware issue or perhaps he SSD isn't cabled securely inside the laptop.

 

Wondering why my 16Gb SSD cache is only showing:

EC Cache Info
====================================

Mounted : Yes
Partition Size : 6.61 GB
Reserved Size : 3.00 MB
Volume Size : 6.61 GB
Total Used Size : 5.50 GB
Total Free Space : 1.11 GB
Used Data Size : 5.43 GB
Used Data Size on Disk : 5.50 GB

And I also then have 8.29Gb Hibernation partition. Is that needed in Windows 8? Should I use all 16Gb for express cache?

 

Thanks for you response .
They are detected as well on device manager. But, cannot initialized. When I run in ECCmd -INFO that said "HFS not mounted".
That never happen when I use Windows 7. I guess this cause by BIOS update.
Well. Is there anyone have experience same as my problem and how to resolve that ? Please help me,
The iSSD is a chipset installing on board. I think there are no cable inside.

Thanks.

 

Hi,

i have been having some problems regarding EC in the last days.
every second boot i do (whether its is a reboot or a booting from shutdown state) i get stuck on the win8 boot screen and the laptop freezes.
i see that the hdd led if on but the boot sequence is stuck. only a force shutdown fixes this.
i decided to do a fresh win8 installation and from the process of elimination i found that this problem starts after installing EC.
i tried to format the drive, to uninstall & install EC again but the problem keeps coming back after a while.
i think this all started after updating my bios via swupdate. i say that because another weird thing happened. every time a open the lid from a state of total shutdown the laptop auto boots without me pressing the power button...

any ideas ?

thanks

 

Does it work with windows 8?

HTC Sensation Z710e cihazmdan Tapatalk 2 ile gönderildi

 

QUESTION: Is i possible to use ExpressCache to cache files from the non-OS HDD? I figured being pointless using a cahce with a real SSD, it might be worth using

ANSWER: No. It is not possible to cache the information of an SSD. ExpressCache is only design to cache the information from an HDD

 

For those having problems getting ExpressCache to work, I suggest uninstalling EC, deleting the partition on the iSSD (using Windows Disk Manager), then re-installing EC. Reboots in between.

Detailed steps in this post.

Admittedly, I have not tried this in Windows 8, and I am aware that some of you had it working in Win7 but not in Win8. Still, it was true for some Win7 users as well that they couldn't get EC to "take" after a Windows re-install. So try this and see if EC doesn't create a new partition and starts working after you re-install it. Use ECCmd -INFO to check it.

Update: As for using EC to cache an SSD, there is no point: the iSSD used in these Sammies is slower than any recent SSD on the market.

Update2: Also check this excellent post by Mata_Ratos for Win8 tips.

 

It does not work.

I dont know what happened but it does work now.

 

Sorry to hear that. Let's see if we can narrow it.

What did you try? Deleting the partition (and how)? DISKPART CLEAN? Or converting between MBR/GPT in Disk Manager?

Which Windows version and which ExpressCache version?

I have deleted my iSSD partitions many times, but one thing I haven't tried myself is to low-level format, initialize and re-partition it. (I didn't want to screw up my working EC.) But that's basically what Mata_Ratos and others have been doing with DISKPART CLEAN and/or with Disk Manager Convert. If I couldn't get my EC working, I would definitely try that.

Let's know how it goes.

 

Howdy to Dannemand and company! I have an odd issue: I've installed ExpressCache on the NP700Z5C under Windows 8, and can't for the life of me get it show up in EasySettings. HOWEVER: when I run "eccmd.exe -info" I get a totally reasonable printout, telling me that the cache is functioning and how much it is utilized. I think the root issue is failure to communicate between EasySettings and ExpressCache, because:

(1) I've tried multiple versions of EasySettings

(2) I've tried multiple versions of ExpressCache

(3) I've tried the excellent directions provided by Dannemand ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...expresscache-back-edition-10.html#post8803477)

(4) I've tried using MacDisk to format the iSSD as described in the OP

At this point it's more a cosmetic issue and not a deal-breaker, as I see that EC is working, and if for some reason I want to turn it off I can toggle it at the command line. But like other anal users out there it just BUGS me!

Any thoughts? Forgive me for not reading the entire thread yet...it's Sunday morning...LOL

EDIT: I should clarify, so I don't sound like a TOTAL idiot...of course I learned how to use eccmd from the copy of Dannemand's post in the OP, which explicitly mentions the "EC not showing up in ES" issue. I'm just wondering if somewhere between pages 1 and 17 that issue got solved. Either way, I'll make sure to read the whole thread later today!

-Matt

 

OK, a little more research and PROBLEM SOLVED.

I had a sneaking suspicion all along, and was able to confirm it. Basically it looks like some versions of EC work and others "don't". Here's the backstory:

This particular model (NP700Z5C-S02UB) came with Windows 8. I spent the last day downgrading it back to Windows 7 (a story in itself) and noticed something important...almost every time I installed a driver or Samsung utility program, SW Update would tell me, "Hey, I have a NEWER version of that for you."

It happened multiple times:

(1) Realtek audio driver
(2) ExpressCache
(3) EasySettings
(4) NVIDIA graphics driver, and so on

What makes this an interesting story, and obscured the problem, was that the initial batch of downloads came by loading SW Update on another Samsung laptop -- which strangely offers the "Find Model" function that lists the software for pretty much any model (I haven't seen it yet on my NP700Z5C) -- and most importantly, by selecting the EXACT model and Windows 7 as the OS. So I figured that route provided me with the most up to date software (in contrast to downloading them directly from samsung.com, and ahem, should I mention of course that the S02UB isn't listed there?).

So I was puzzled when SW Update on the S02UB would suggest newer versions. For example, I updated the Realtek driver, and promptly noticed that it caused a major error when I accessed the SoundAlive tab in EasySettings. So I downgraded back one version, and everything was working again. At that point, I began to suspect that SW Update was actually offering me drivers/utilities based on my model number AND the assumption that I was running Win8. It seems that some of those programs also work fine under Win7, while some don't.

Anyway, long story short, I downgraded ExpressCache to the version I'd originally installed (1.0.64.0) and naturally EC immediately showed up in EasySettings. I also noticed that once there, EC was fairly indifferent about initiating the cache -- it didn't care about whether/how it was formatted, I didn't have to mess around with Disk Management (which is my new best friend) or Diskpart (my other new best friend). I didn't have to reinstall EasySettings. It just worked.

Sorry for the long blog -- it's now Sunday afternoon and I'm a little more alert/talkative! Maybe some of these observations will be helpful to other new owners.

-Matt

Postscript: A few posts down, you'll see that most of the problems got sorted out. What I learned today is: when doing a clean install on a 7 Series machine, let Windows finish doing all its usual patches and updates before installing utilities like ExpressCache and Easy Settings. Still not sure about some of the other utilities, but those were working once .NET Framework 4 was installed.

 

@Matt: Great info there, thanks for posting.

I can tell you I upgraded to ExpressCache 1.0.94 a few weeks ago (with the new Condusiv name), which did cause Easy Settings to no longer display it -- as you found as well. I then updated Easy Settings to 2.0.0, which took care of that and displays EC just as always.

Easy Settings 2.0 is somewhat different in how it installs and loads itself compared to the 1.x versions -- although it looks and works just the same on the surface.

Like you, I had to dig out the new versions by forcing SW Update to look up my model, and ask it to export Win8 drivers, then pull the Win7 version out from those installation packages.

I still owe the forum an update on that in my Latencies thread (AND that Easy Settings Secrets thread which I still haven't gotten around to).

 

Wow, what a GREAT tip. I'll definitely go hunt down the 2.0 version of Easy Settings, thanks! Why do you think the version of ES on my low-end NP305E5A shows the "Find Model" option while the ultra-super-amazing NP700Z5C doesn't?

EDIT: I tracked down the 2.0 version, and can view the contents of the package, but I'm stuck at that point. Any hints what to do next?

By "is somewhat different in how it...loads itself" do you mean "doesn't use Task Scheduler"?

-Matt

 

@Matt: I presume you meant SW Update on your Series 7 has "Find Model" while Series 3 doesn't, right? (Your post said ES, which to me is Easy Settings).

Is the the same SW Update version on both machines? SW Update is not consistent in its ability to update itself to the latest version: Sometimes it will suggest updates automatically, other times I have to go to the Update tab to find it. I only have SW Update on my test installation (because it's a drag), but I believe the latest version is 2.0.5.3.

What I did was Export the Settings package for Win8, which created a folder called SystemSoftware\Settings 2.0.0.30. Under that was a Win7 folder with a SetupW.exe. Again, this was a few weeks ago. Maybe I was just lucky, and later packages don't have that.

Update: Almost forgot: In addition to loading some kernel drivers, Easy Settings 2.x still uses Task Scheduler, but the modules are different. Two tasks both load sSettings.exe with different delays ( EasySettings and EasySettings_config) while SCCSpeedBoot and WLANStartup are the same. I still disable WLANStartup while I decrease the delay on the other tasks.

 

Ooops, yeah I meant SW Update -- been cleaning toilets today, and it's clearly affecting my brain! But no, the Series 3 has it and the Series 7 doesn't. They are different versions -- not sure if I should try and mix and match those across Series.

Hmmm, I downloaded the Win8 version for the NP700Z5C (version 2.0.0.20), but it doesn't have a Win7 folder included. I'll have to scour some more!

Thanks again,

-Matt

 

That's too bad. But thanks for that update. Means I'll have to dig some more before updating and posting this stuff. Please keep me posted on what you find.

 

Did you say yours was the NP700Z3A? Maybe it's worth a shot for me to try viewing the files for a different model.

EDIT: HAH! Just tried looking for it on the NP700Z5C-S01UB and just like you said, version 2.0.0.30 and two Win folders. Awesome, I'll give it a try!
EDIT2: And darn, deja-vu all over again...I installed the Win7 version but it doesn't run. I'd forgotten that the same thing happened with the 2.0.0.20 version that SW Update already recommended. Shoot. Well, the good news is that the older version works!
EDIT3: Er, maybe...hold my horses. After the EasySettings install it mentioned updating .NET and guess what, Win7 is downloading a major set of updates including .NET Framework 4. I'll post back if reinstalling 2.0.0.30 works.
EDIT4: Yep, it works. Looks like 2.0 needs .NET 4. But EC is missing again (argh)...I'll see if updating to 1.0.94.0 fixes it.
EDIT5: And yep, EC 1.0.94.0 not only works but shows up in EasySettings 2.0.0.30. AWESOME.

-Matt

 

Yep, that's my model. And the Settings version I have is 2.0.0.30.

 

@Matt: Wow, good job. Well done being so persistent. So we have confirmed on both a Sandy Bridge and an Ivy Bridge model that ExpressCache 1.0.94.0 and Easy Settings 2.0.0.30 work -- and work together!

It is unfortunate that Easy Settings now needs .NET Framework 4. I hate that stuff because of the frequent and huge updates. AND it slows the PC down a little. But there is no avoiding .NET -- unless we all switch to Macs and/or Android some day

I already had .NET Client Framework 4 installed because my charting platform needs it (and so does Catalyst Control Center for my AMD graphics, if I remember correctly). So Easy Settings 2.x never notified me that it would install it. Good to know for when I get to write this stuff up.

 

No problemo, it was a day well-spent! And I'm really impressed with how much faster Easy Settings loads and runs.

In hindsight, I seem to remember in a few install guides, some (maybe you, included) might have mentioned "letting all the Windows 7 updates to percolate through before installing any of Samsung's utilities." Since this is the first time I've done it on a Series 7 machine, I guess that's what I'll do from now on. I wonder if just running Windows Update over and over will keep those initial updates/service packs coming?

Next on my list: imaging the start-up drive as a baseline now that everything is working.

-Matt

 

After a new install, I load hardware drivers first, including LAN and WiFi drivers. (I posted my driver sequence a few times in various posts.)

BUT, after that I prefer running the MS_Hotfix_common and MS_Hotfix_CriticalUpdate packages that came with my Sammy before I connect to the internet. Being behind a firewall, you're not likely to get hit with anything. But if you were to connect a naked PC with no security updates straight to the internet, you'll have infections in 20 mins, even just sitting there without opening a browser!

Only then will I load other Samsung utilities and finally run Windows Update. Of course you can re-run Windows Update anytime you want.

About the imaging: I make multiple images along the way, the first after Win install and trimming, then after basic drivers, after Win Update, after settings tweaks, after app installation. This allows me to restore back to any point if I decide I made a mistake. Also allows me to test new things easily (like new Easy Settings etc): I just restore a clean image to my test partition where I can mess with it.

 

Sir, did you mean you get back to install with Windows 7 and your iSSD can get back working again ?

 

Yes, precisely. The machine came with Win 8 installed, and now I have Win 7 + ExpressCache and everything is working perfectly.

See Dannemand's post above for excellent tips on installation order.

-Matt

 

Hey Matt, could I persuade you to take a look at this discussion between bball3212 and myself?

He bought a Win8 Series 7, and now having problems installing Win7 because the HDD was pre-partitioned as GPT. I told him to try UEFI install or converting the disk to MBR (which I presume will lose everything, including his Recovery Partition).

My questions for you:

1) Was your HDD also GPT partitioned?

2) Was your Win8 installed as UEFI (UEFI enabled in BIOS)?

3) When installing Win7, did you keep it GPT and installed as UEFI? Or did you convert to MBR?

4) Or something completely different?

Thanks in advance!

 

Sure, I'll post replies to those questions right now!

-Matt

 

Boy, you're fast! Thanks a lot for that response. It's here for those who're interested (that was a link).

 

Sir, did you have any experience problem like me before ? like iSSD in disk initialzed ?

Thanks.

 

No, I was/am always able to access and format it, either using diskpart or Disk Management.

-Matt

 

nicosoft, i have read all your posts and you have described the same thing that happened to me,

updated to win 8
express cache was working ok

and then after 4 weeks BAM, the screen got stuck, and when restarted the laptop windows takes longer to boot (5 min aprox)
and the issd partition now appears as unitialized and cannot be fixed (disk part, disk management).

were you able to fix it?

 

hello eveyone,
first of all im glad to find this thread as i have been looking for an express cache solution but havent found anything and samsung support sucks, i have a samsung series 5 that came with express cache and windows 7, recently when windows 8 came out i installed that through the online upgrade process and as you all must have guessed, lost my express cache, i have tried emailling samsung but they dont have an answer, i wanted to ask which version of express cache would work and is there anything special that i need to do?
i apologize if im missing a tutorial on a post here in this thread i will be grateful if you can point me towards it as well
thanks!

 

never mind i finally got it working!

what i did was i manually went in sw update and searched for my ultrabooks drivers and there it was the 64 bit version of express cache! i uninstalled easy settings and then installed express cache and then installed easy settings and restarted after every little step and now my pc is booting up in half the time! 15 seconds flat

thank you for helping me find the software!

 

@silyk
how did you format the partition. i tried it with macdisk, but when i look into diskmgmt then there is no partition. i also can't find the expresscache driver in samsung software update. a manual installation of the windows 7 x64 drivers from the samsung page does not work on windows 8. :-/

 

i think im lucky in the sense that i never messed with the ssd, as in never formatted it or anything

ill upload the express cache for you

http://www.mediafire.com/?91bfadvfk3zwy36
there u go

 

hey,

thanks for the quick reply! i installed the express cache and i think it is working now. a partition was created on the issd during the installation and eccmd -info shows, that some mb/gb of the issd are in use. also the enable/disable setting in samsung easy settings shows up now. thank you very much!

*edit*
ahh, it is working like a charm! ^^ after several programm starts and reboots everything is noticeable faster.

 

That's good advice: You're not supposed to have to format or prepare partitions manually for ExpressCache. If there is already an EC partition from previously, just leave it there. If the iSSD has been user for other purposes or the partition been messed with, then delete it before installing EC.

ExpressCache will create and format its own partition. If it doesn't, it's because something else is wrong. In THAT case maybe start playing with the partition or initialize the disk -- but only then.

 

My expresscache always formats itself when i reboot my computer. For example if 6 gb of EC is full, when i reboot my computer it deletes everything in it making no impact on boot times. How can i fix this?

 

@vesayreve
Have you tried to run the eccmd.exe? (in Program Files) There are some options to configure the expresscache and i think i can remember an option for reboot-behaviour.

 

Yea i ran eccmd.exe but i dont know which option does that...

 

I've also seen this occur sometimes. In particular does it happen consistently if I boot a second Windows partition (used for tests) EVEN though that partition doesn't have EC installed: When I come back to my primary Windows, EC has been flushed.

But I've also had installations where EC just flushed itself after each reboot. Very annoying.

I think Easy Settings is causing this - although I'm not 100% certain. Not that Easy Settings itself flushes EC (unless you use its Reset function); but somehow it makes the EC software think this is a new (or different) Windows installation, causing it to rebuild its cache.

I suggest uninstall Easy Settings AND ExpressCache, delete the EC partition (Windows Disk Management), then re-install ExpressCache and Easy Settings. Reboots in between.

It sounds like a lot, but really should only take a few minutes.

I'll be interested if that solves it.