NP530Uxx Thread (Series 5 ultrabook)

Hi guys,

first time poster, but long time reader.

I always try to read as much as I can before starting making questions, but I couldn´t find an answer to this one, maybe is a dumb question but here it goes:

I saw that everybody who installs a new ssd, just replaces the hdd, and keep the 16gb ssd, wouldn´t be possible to replace the 16gb by a let's say 250 gb ssd and keep the 500 gb hdd?

Either way, I am not that happy with performance, sometimes it lags quite a bit waking up from sleep and when with a lot of tasks open, so I am going to upgrade ram and install an ssd.

thanks in advance.

 

Hi yugoport, welcome to NBR

Assuming you mean the 16GB SSD used for ExpressCache, it's soldered on the motherboard and cannot be replaced. It's also not directly bootable, so even if you install an OS there, you'd still have to boot it via a boot manager on the HDD.

To speed things up, you can uninstall unnecessary Samsung bloat (I'm away from my pc or I would link some posts for you; try googling it).

Also, ExpressCache can slow down sometimes. Try defragging the C drive, then run BOOTOPT.BAT in the ExpressCache folder. It should take some time to optimize. If it doesn't, try defragging and run BOOTOPT.BAT again.

 

Thanks Dannemand,

Already did what you suggested and overall speed improved, thank you.

Regarding the 16GB SSD, I could imagine that I would not be the first with a magical idea Thank you for your clarification, it was indeed a diubt that I had for some time.

Thanks again

 

Hi Guyz -

I just recently got a Samsung Ativ 5 series ultrabook... but seems like the model has changed.. this thread mainly talks about NP530Uxx... but the one I got mentions the product as NP540U3C-A03UB.. is anyone aware what are the major differences between this model and the one for which this thread was created..

I only see my model at most sites.. 1 2 3 4

And even though I got this ultrabook during Black Friday... I haven't yet opened it.. and thought might have some better model available soon... but seems like the only option to get a better model is to spend more than what this model costed me... I was able to get this ultrabook for 498$'s+ tax... what was the cost of the ultrabook for the model in this thread and most people paid for it ?

I am torn between keeping this ultrabook or get a HP Spectre 13t-3000 Ultrabook being discussed here.... which seems like a future proof ultrabook..

the only things which I don't like in this samsung ultrabook are screen resolution, unable to put in SSD apart from main HDD and ofcourse the Processor being 3rd generation...

suggestions from previous Ativ 5 users.. so I can save money and just use this Samsung ultrabook and not buy the HP and look into uprgrading options sometime in future...

TIA .. sorry for lengthy post..

 

I would never trade Samsung for HP, but maybe that's just me..
Have you noticed the ultrabook you mention costs twice the price? Are they even comparable? To make a fair comparison please choose a series 9 ultrabook..
I see no point in a bigger resolution screen on a Intel HD GPU, it will only reduce your laptop life span, and in 13" you can't really say you'll take full advantge of full HD resolution.. It's all fashion!

Honestly, only difference i see between your 540 and my NP530U3C-A05PT is a different screen casing, other than that, they're the same hardware and the same everything.

IMO, if you want gaming and performance, choose a 15.6" laptop and forget ultrabook fashion statements. If you want portability, be reasonable, expect functionality, not full hd screens, griller and expresso machine onboard included(if you get my irony)...

Choose well, cheers.

 

Thanks skor78... for your valuable inputs...

Yes I am aware that HP ultrabook is twice costly and with over 1k spent on a ultrabook will add the need for extended warranty to it too.. making the cost go higher...

I was not making a comparison just stuck and not able to decide properly...

I totally agree.. I may not want a 1400p resolution on a ultrabook but 1080p.. would give more working space area on the ultrabook.. imo... I never saw a 1080p or 1400p resolution ultrabook.. will try to stop by some store tomm to check them out...

I want the extra resolution for more work space area.. nothing much...

Thanks for the comparison and providing the difference between 540 and 530U models of this samsung ultrabook...

hope I will decide wisely and save money so I can invest on a bigger monitor with 1400p resolution....which I have been long waiting to do so...

 

I'd grab those spare $500 and buy a smart tv. 1080p is more than enough. Don't forget to consider you're using intel hd graphics. It IS important, not in work space load, but definitely important in flash player, movies and games load.

Cheers.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

Thanks again.. yep.. the extra money is what is holding me off from getting HP.. which only has a new processor.. which could increase battery life... but even this sammy should give me around 5-6 hours of battery life right ? and that should be more than enough.. and I will live with 720p for one more year .. as the screen itself is so small.. and spend the extra cash somewhere else...

anyone had any issues with this samsung ultrabook..or anything I need to be wary of. TIA

 

hi guys
I bought new 530U4C-S02ae with win 8 and hd 1tb and 24 express caching
so I want to install win 7 without losing the win 8 original recovery and the advantage of fast booting
and the Samsung website saying that if I installed win 7 I will lose win 8

 

Sandy-bridge processors are 2.5/3yo, Ivy-bridge are little more than 1yo, i mean.. Is the Haswell really worth all that much, or might you get something newer and better already next year?..
I'm quite happy with my Ivy laptops for now, and i see no real necessity of upgrading to Haswell, they both hang on ~6h battery life, and rare is the day i need even half that time without a plug. Let's be real, even most tablets don't have more than 7h battery time..

Cheers.

I think not. I know this didn't happened on reverse (win7 recovery partition and running win8), but you can't install or use Samsung recovery SW because it will use and overwrite the same partition.
I think if you browse around the forum someone probably already gave an answer to this, but if you're really really afraid, why don't you simply create another partition and make a dual boot running win 7 and 8?
On a side note, the fast boot is managed by Express Cache SW, not Win7,8 or Samsung SW.

Good luck!

 

It's difficult, both because your Win8 is an UEFI/GPT installation and because Win7's boot loader (which you will be installing last) doesn't know how to boot Win8.

I have Win7 and Win8 on two partitions, and my Recovery too. But it was much easier, because I started with a Win7 (non-UEFI/MBR) installation.

Before you do anything, I strongly advice that you use Recovery to create a bootable factory image backup. You need a 32GB USB flash drive (anything but SanDisk should work) which will then become a Recovery in itself with built-in factory image. You can use it to re-image your disk if it gets messed up. You'll likely need it before this project is over. Seriously.

I'm away from my pc now, but look around here and you will find advice about that Recovery backup. For example, check the first post of the Ativ Book 8 Owners Lounge.

Once you have that, you need to decide if you'll stay in UEFI mode or switch to legacy BIOS mode (non-UEFI): The latter is simpler and works better with Win7, but requires wiping your disk (including Recovery). And you need clean Win8 install media.

If you manage to get it all working with dual-boot, you will find that your ExpressCache gets flushed every time you switch between the two - even if you only install it in one of them. Very annoying, and makes it less attractive to switch between the two.

Personally, I would recommend getting a 3rd party Start Menu for Win8 instead, and simply use it the same way as Win7. You'll save yourself much work; and you hardly ever have to see the Metro screen if you don't want to.

 

thanks for all the information its helpful
and I think I will stick to win 8 but when I was talking about win7 that I will operate it alone without win 8 and the recovery of win 8 will be like backup
and by the way can I uninstall the win 8 single language(x64) that came with laptop to (x86) ultimate or the single language (x64) is better

 

Apparently I was hugely WRONG about this.. Sorry and thanks to Dannemand for clarifying.

Regarding start menu SW, I use Start8, but there are many options out there, and considering i don't look for an option in over a year, maybe you should browse a little.

 

Actually, guys, I am the one who was wrong here, because I misunderstood tamer's original post: I see now you were NOT looking to dual-boot Win7 and Win8 (as I had understood) but merely to install Win7 while keeping your Recovery. That's perfectly sensible.

Installing Win7 in UEFI mode on the current GPT drive is still tricky, but may be doable when you are not concerned about preserving Win8. But you are still faced with the problem that Win7 and UEFI is historically tricky on Samsung laptops.

I think a better solution is to create that Bootable Factory Image backup on a 32GB USB stick (using the first two steps in this post) then switch to legacy BIOS/MBR mode and install Win7. This will wipe the disk, but you now have your Recovery and Factory Image on the USB stick. If you want to use Recovery to install Win8 some day, you switch back to UEFI mode, boot the USB stick, and have it re-image the drive to factory state. To be safe, you may want a secondary Recovery backup, as described in this post.

Note that it really MUST be a USB flash drive working as a removable drive, since Recovery doesn't support booting from a USB HDD. That's why SanDisk flash drives don't work, they act as HDDs, not as removable drives (member bel90 shared that information in this thread).

Once you have that USB backup, this WIn7 install guide should cover everything, including the conversion to MBR, change of BIOS settings, SW Update, which drivers to install, and even ExpressCache. It looks very long because it covers many different models (AND because it covers both Win7 and Win8-delivered models), but it's rally not that much work. The only snafu is you really want to install Win7 from DVD (not USB) in order to avoid a boot problem caused by the ExpressCache drive. There are workarounds in case you don't have a DVD drive.

That said, of course making Win8 work for you is still by far the easiest solution. Personally I use the free Start Menu8 (from IObit) which works almost exactly like a Win7 start menu. Many are using Start8, which costs a few bucks. I do NOT recommend Pokki, though, which is really just nasty spamware intended to push other 3rd party apps.

 

dear dannemand
thanks a lot for your help & I will try to work with win8
but the thing is I work on some old programs that require win7 or win xp
and I will try to switch to win 7 if it necessary
but which version of win 7 will be more suitable for my laptop 64 or 86 ??
and again thanks a lot for your help guys

 

Don't discard Win8 before you even try running these programs in compatibility mode. Although this is not exactly new, remember, you can open that program proprieties, choose its compatibility, and run it that way permanently.

 

I tried the compatibility troubleshooting solution and it works sometimes but the program when it runs it run so slow with problems!!!!
any way I will try other version of this program
but can I upgrade win8 single language to pro easly from flash memory?(anew win8 copy)
or it will require additional work???

 

Don't use compatibility troubleshooting, right-click program proprieties, go to compatibility tab, experiment between versions, choose visual settings (this could relate to your slow issues), and select run as admin if needed.. Don't leave troubleshoot up to Windows if you can do it yourself.

I'm sure if you google you'll find that answer in minutes, what I'm wondering is.. Do you really need Win8 Pro or is it just a language issue?

 

Win7 64bit Home Premium is the one that came with my NP700Z3A. But you can use either. If you have more than 3GB RAM, you will need 64bit to take advantage of it. You need a matching Product Key, of course.

Skor78 is spot on about exhausting Win8's compatibility options. But if you have to make the switch, at least you can.

 

There are some old programs that don't like either Windows 7 or 8. The solution for this is VMplayer or similar and an old copy of Windows XP with its key so you can create a Windows XP virtual PC. There are also some less old programs that won't run properly unless you find some dll files that used to be included as part of the Windows installation.

I've done this so I can occasionally run some few old programs.

John

 

what is the max memory upgrade for this ultrabook..

I see these online.. that max it can take is 12 GB ?

Thanks

 

I could take a 8Gb stick from my 550 and test it in my 530U3C for 12Gb if you really need to know.. But IMHO 8Gb is more than enough.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

That would be really helpful to know..if you could test that..

And yes I agree.. all I have seen and heard is 8 GB is more than enough.. and for sure 4gb would make me think that this ultrabook or any ultrabook.. that comes with 4 GB ram will make if feel like it is slow performing...

 

I tried all compatibility solution and it did not work
so I will try to switch to win 7

 

What is the software you're trying to run?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

software name "Digital Operational Publications"
it`s aprograme to view several pdf file and rearrange them
but is there is some way to convert hard disk from gpt to mbr without format hard

 

All that just for an outdated pdf editor? Just google "free pdf editor" and you'll find millions of alternative freeware solutions.

 

The official answer is no (unfortunately).

Your GPT disk contains at least six primary partitions (see this post) whereas MBR disks can only contain four; and the very partition structure on GPT disks is very different.

The opposite is process (MBR to GPT) is more technically feasible.

You can try Googling lossless convert gpt to mbr and see what comes up.

But I would definitely make a full backup of all data first -- in fact, I would make TWO different backups of any data I care about, assuming that my disk will be wiped in the process. Or (even better) swap in a different disk for the new installation and keep the original disk as an external drive. That will also preserve the Recovery as we discussed.

 

my laptop is 542U3X, a DOS model, without Samsung Recovery Solution, how can I rebuild the Samsung Recovery Solution in the hardisk?

 

You can't. Samsung has a internal tool for it. Read around the forum and you'll find many people have tried and failed. Myself included.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

As Skor said, there really is no way to do this without the right tool or backup - which had to be created while your Recovery was still intact. And even if you can get hold of the tool, you need a factory image (ie the original Samsung installation). Without that, Recovery is pointless anyway.

 

I do that! Thanks Bing! I found the Samsung Recovery Solution 6.0.9.2 admin tool, get the attachments and download the torrent, burn in to Flash-Disk, restar laptop and boot from USB, selcet "install samsung recovery solution" and "MBR Fix", click "RUN", the admin tool will FORMAT the last partition in the hard disk and install Samsung Recovery Solution in it, the "MBR Fix" fix the F4 key in order to boot from Recovery Solution.
In the Recovery UI which just install, you can press Ctrl+Alt+F10, input the password "secclx" to get more options, like import or export the recovery image to or from the hard disk partition which install the samsung recovery solution you can't see it in windows
I'm sorry for my pool english
here is the detail usage
http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/683577-samsung-series-9-windows-8-a-57.html#post9147381

 

Nice discovery! Please post results. Thanks.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

Are there any recommendations for the windows 8.1 upgrade on an 530u3c (core i3-2xxx) with ExpressCache? My plan is updating the drivers via Samsung Software Update (there would be also a graphic driver available via windows update) and before upgrading to 8.1 i would disable and flush the ExpressCache. I guess if you do not disable the ExpressCache, you can run into problems after upgrading windows.

 

Make sure you are aware of the risks associated with the 8.1 upgrade -- it sounds like you already did your homework. Our 8.1 sticky thread has a lot of discussion and solutions for individual models:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...pgrade-until-samsung-has-updated-drivers.html

Specifically about ExpressCache, disabling it during the update is a good idea (to speed up and avoid wear on the iSSD). After that you simply need to uninstall/re-install ExpressCache (making sure you got the latest version). It runs fine with Win 8.1. See this post.

 

I followed the "DON'T upgrade until Samsung has updated drivers" Thread and i hope i do not get the black-screen issue... Well, i'll give it a try. Thanks for the tip with un-/reinstalling the express cache.

 

Good luck, I think you'll be fine. Please post your findings -- either here or in the 8.1 thread.

 

Great post! Glad I found it!

I have the:
Samsung Ultrabook 13" Series 5 NP540U3C-A03UB Touch-Screen Laptop,
Core i5-3317U, DDR3 8GB Memory, 500GB HDD + 24GB ExpressCache

Perfect for photography! It gets between 5-6.5 hours a battery, very light and compact @ 3.73 lbs.,
Loaded with Adobe CS6 Masters Collection and other photography programs.

 

Any idea what's wrong with my NP530U3C? The fan doesn't spin while PC is on. It spins for short period of time when PC is started and stops. CPU temps go so up that core speed drops down and fan does nothing. This started yesterday and reboot doesn't help. Silent mode is disabled in Samsung Settings app. I'm running Windows 8.1 Pro.

edit. And now it's working just fine. Weird.

 

Possibly a dying fan or bad connection.

Watch out for the problem reoccurring.

John

 

Yesterday i did the update to Windows 8.1 and it worked without any problems so far. (no black-screen) I updated all drivers via Samsung Software Update and installed Windows 8.1.

 

Hi guys,

I have a problem with my NP530. It has Win8 installed and I want to install Win7 on it. And I tried. But as the boot was not initializing from USB, I changed the boot order and it does not keep my changes and goes back the Windows boot manager to the top.

Trying to fix it by myself, I disabled all boot options and let only USB HDD enabled. But now, the laptop only shows the Samsung logo and restart. I can't access the Setup Bios anymore.

There was an option on boot order named "Setup" and I disabled that too. I think it is the problem. But as I said, I can't access the Setup Bios to change the order again.

Could somebody help me to get my access to setup back? Maybe a CMOS/BIOS reset can solve the problem? If so, how can I perform it?

Thank you.

 

Does your notebook have ExpressCache?

If so, then it makes OS installation more complicated as explained in this thread.

John

 

I've not got a solution for your problem, but i suggest you to keep Windows 8.1. So you do not need to buy a Win 7 license and your notebook boots up much faster. The new Update for Windows 8.1 brings a lot more comfort to mouse-users (shutdown button,...) and it boots directly to the Desktop by default. If you do not like the new Start-Screen just look at it as a "big search-window" for programms and other stuff. If you're still not happy with the OS you can install a third-party start-menue tool to get the old start-menue back. Windows 8 is not as bad as some people claim, just try it.

If your notebook hast got expresscache then (as already said) follow the instructions in this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/697841-guide-how-install-windows-7-8-via-usb-np700z.html or use an external USB DVD drive. (20-40$)

 

I would NOT advise trying the Win 8.1 update until problems are resolved.
As for the start menu, I don't mind the new version now that I'm use to it, but my wife HATES it so instead of doing the win 8.1 update, I used this:
Classic Shell - Start menu and other Windows enhancements
Which is great and looks like the old win7 version. Wife loves it!

 

Hi

Didn't you already try that BIOS/CMOS reset (looking here)?

In any case would I suggest you try it again since it's your best chance of getting BIOS back to normal. Again, the procedure is in John's post here.

Since your computer came with Win8 pre-installed, it runs in UEFI mode, meaning it boots from the EFI partition on your disk. If you left BIOS with only USB boot enabled, you have to have a FAT32 formatted USB stick with Windows Setup (or anything bootable) since UEFI does not support booting from NTFS. Microsoft's ISO/USB creation tool (which most people use) doesn't work with UEFI. See this post for details. But even if you create a proper FAT32 USB with Windows Setup, I wonder how that will help if you still cannot get into BIOS and change your boot priority.

Did you try pressing F10 after power on (Esc on older models) to choose a different boot device? If you can boot Win8 this way, you could try Charms-Settings-PC Settings-General-Advanced startup and see if that will get you back into into BIOS.

 

hello,
i have NP530U4C laptop, i bought it a couple of months ago and i notice that it is running very slow, the windows index is 3.6 ( based on cpu reading ). it takes IE 10-15 seconds to start loading a page. i have read reviews online that this laptop is slow but did not expect it to be that slow!!! it really sucks when using it.. so is that normal, what can i do to enhance the performance ?
thanks

 

3.6 is extremely slow on a i5 cpu. Please provide complete model for specs and download software like hwmonitor from cpuid to monitor temperatures. If temperatures are getting hot easily, you might want to consider dismantling the laptop for cleaning fan and heatsink, and replace thermal paste.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

Mine is running 5.4 WIE with graphics being the weak link. Nothing I can do to improve that.
I notice your notebook has only 4GB memory. Adding 4 more to make it 8GB memory will help speed things up.
You probably have a lot of bloatware loading up and other junk. Sometimes things you download add stuff you don't know and it really slows you down, so try running Malwarebytes Anti-Malware & AVG to speed things up... both are free.

 

Jack, its not MB, its GB!
Although I'd normally also recommend adding RAM and cleaning junk, I believe the WEI 3.4 rating on cpu is clearly the elephant in the room.. Something's not right with that.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk