SSD update wont work. Ativ book 8 (880Z5E)

Hi guys.

So like the title says, I'm struggling/failing with upgrading to an SSD. I will describe from start to finish.

1, I start making a 'recovery image' on a HDD to install on the SSD later on.

2, I screw out the original HDD in the laptop and replace it with completely fresh SSD (Samsung 840 evo).

3, install windows 8 using the HDD with recovey image, and install it on the SSD.

4, I boot up, all ran smooth. Then I try too update too 8.1 saying I need to update windows first. Windows update first. I do the update and it says after installing "Failure configuring Windows updates. Reverting changes. Do not turn off your computer". I let it do this and when it restart I get the "please wait" spinning wheel.

5, I do the install from HDD with recovery image again on the SSD. This time I download SW update and update all drivers, before I do the windows update. I restart, all run smoothly. Then I try installing updates to windows. Once more getting the "Failure configuring Windows updates. Reverting changes. Do not turn off your computer" and after restart the "please wait" spinning wheel comes on again.

So. What to do? im currently stuck at a windows 8 without any programs and cant update and do nothing. Yes im typing from the same PC, just hasn't done the windows update yet (because I know it will fail... tried 3 times).

Anything im doing wrong? ofc I can re-install the HDD, but I rather not unscrew the bottom again.

Hope anyone can help.

Ty in advance, Brad.

 

I wonder whether the recovery image route didn't work because the SSD has lower capacity than the HDD. SRS 6 also offers a cloning option which people have used successfully.

I've also had hassles with the Windows 8 to 8.1 update. I think when there is a long list of Windows 8 updates to be applied then some trip over others if they are done at the same time. The technique seems to be to apply the updates a few at a time and periodically check whether you can then get to the 8.1 update. That process eventually worked for me on a tablet but it took about a day of fiddling around (the rolling back takes a long time when it happens).

We have to blame Microsoft, not Samsung, for these headaches.

John

 

Thank you for answer!

Only thing about this is that i did the 16gb recovery image. So i didnt clone/copy the HDD to the SSD.

But if you think that is the better solutuin, to clone the HDD over to the SSD i can try to do that. Hopefully i can boot from my HDD from usb port and then clone over to the installed SSD.

i will also try the 1-by-1 windows update install....

B

 

If you made a Factory Image in Recovery with Create Boot Disk enabled, saving to a USB flash drive, then that should work (except normally your model needs 32GB, 16GB is not enough). You can compare to the steps in this post.

If that's what you did already, then most likely the problem is with the Win8.1 update process, not with how you installed onto the SSD. Lots of members have had problems with Win8.1 updates, and this model has been one of the more difficult. Some members were simply unable to get everything working until they performed a clean install of Win8.1 instead.

Check our Win8.1 Update thread: Read the opening post and scan the last 10 pages for posts relevant to your model. Also check the AB8 Owners Lounge for 8.1 discussions.

If there are BIOS updates for your model, flashing the latest BIOS can be critical to a successful Win8.1 update. But DON'T perform the BIOS update directly in SW Update. As described in our BIOS Update thread you want to run the BIOS Update utility outside SW Update, save the BIOS update file itself, and run it standalone. This minimizes risks of problems during the flash process.

Also make sure to install updates from SW Update as well as Windows Update, before running the actual Win8.1 updater -- and also afterwards.

If you choose to clean install Win8.1 instead, then follow this recent post in the AB8 Owners Lounge. You don't have to delete your Recovery on the SSD just because you do a clean install.

 

Ty for good and detailed answer.

Yes i did exactly as the guide you linked to. the file was about 16.1gb, used a HDD not a usb tough. The BIOS was up to date, P05ADH.

And its when im doing the windows updates, not the acctual upgrade to 8.1, i get the roll back on updates and "please wait" spinning wheel.

I think i want to make a clean install of windows 8 or 8.1. Only problem here is that i cant find a legal .ISO of 8.1 basic edition. Where do i get this? seems almost impossible to get it in a legal way... If i can get my hands on this i will do a clean install. Question - is it possible to do a clean install of 8.1 or do i have to make a clean install of 8 then uppgrade? I have nothing important on this SSD.

B

 

I am surprised that you were able to use an external HDD instead of a USB stick to re-image the new drive. In Recovery, did you create a Factory Image or a State Backup? And in either case, did you enable the Create Boot Disk option?

So far, users have reported they were unable to successfully create Factory Images and Backups that were Bootable (with Create Boot Disk enabled) on HDDs, only on Removable Drives. And several have reported problems because many new USB sticks behave as Fixed Disks, not as Removable Drives, and thus don't work properly with Recovery.

So I am very interested if you were able to create a Bootable Factory Image on an HDD -- and actually boot it and re-image a new SSD with it. When working correctly, it should create a complete factory installation on the new disk, including working Recovery (F4) and all.

About the Windows Updates: I don't know if it is necessary to install all updates from Windows Update before running the Win8.1 updater. What is critical (or can be) are BIOS and driver updates (both from Windows Update and SW Update) since they can affect the ability to boot properly after completing the Win8.1 updater.

You could try re-imaging the disk anew, then install ONLY drivers from Windows Update and SW Update, and see if the Win8.1 updater will complete. Disclaimer: I have not tried that myself, it is merely a suggestion.

And yes, getting Win8 and 8.1 install media can be difficult. It is unfortunate that Microsoft doesn't make the ISOs easily available for download on Digital River, as they do with Win7 ISOs. If you have your Win8 Product Key (which you can extract from your BIOS using tools such as RW Everything) you can try the procedure described here to download the ISO from Microsoft.

As you probably already gathered, we do not allow any discussion on how to find or obtain illegal downloads on the forum. So please don't ask about that (goes for everybody who may see this).

 

Yes i did use an old extarnel HDD for the re-image the new drive. I created a factory image shwon in your Link. The HDD was an old HDD for a computer with a OS installed in one of the partitions, i created the factory image on the other partition and it worked perfactly. And yes it created a working Recovery, as of mentioned beefore because i did the install 3-4 times. I can come back to the exact HDD model if you want later.

Anyways, im now running windows 8.1 on the SSD and all looks good. I only have to update 10 updates at a time in order for Windows Update not to crash (11 crashed my pc.... so strange). it only took me 2-3 hours! And the upgrade to 8.1 went all smooth. Even 20 updates after the upgrade. Only thing i need now is to remove all bloatware.

I gave up the .ISO hunt... I even sent a angry mail to Microsoft reporting me issue. still no response. I would never download illigal .ISO on my main computer when i use it for business and tech-work..

Another question, is there some software i need for the SSD to work flawless (it does now)?. And how is it with partitioning, i see documents, pictures etc all goes under /C partition. What is the best solution? No /D only /C?

B

 

Thank you for the progress report.

Regarding partitioning, I always keep my user files in a separate partition from Windows so I can always rebuild Windows without any threat to my files. Partition Wizard is a good, free, partition manager. (Hint: make a backup image of your C: once you have everything set up and working).

You should also check that the partition alignment on the SSD is correct. There are numerous guides but this is the first one I found and it looks to be reasonably comprehensive.

John

 

Thanks again for this report. I am very interested in some details of this, as it might help other Samsung users. Following are some questions that I would be grateful if you can answer:

1) I understood your post to say you created the bootable factory image backup (which you made in Recovery) on a separate partition on the external HDD, and it left the other partitions on that HDD alone. Is that correctly understood?

2) Is that external HDD partitioned using GPT or MBR? You can use Minitool Partition Wizard to determine that (or even Window Disk Management).

3) Is the partition on which you saved the bootable backup a FAT32 or NTFS partition? (Again, Minitool or Windows Disk Management.)

4) Was the partition marked bootable (Active) by Recovery when it saved the backup? (Again, Minitool or Windows Disk Management. This only applies if it's an MBR disk.)

5) Did Recovery leave other data on that partition alone or did it wipe the partition?

6) When booting the external HDD to restore the factory image, did you have to do anything other than select USB HDD under Boot Priority in BIOS? Of course I presume you had to disable Fast BIOS. Did you have to change UEFI options ( SecureBoot and/or OS Mode Selection)?

Once again, thank you very much for providing this information.

 

5) All data is alright on that disk...

6) Didnt change the boot priority. When i had a fresh SSD in the computer it automaticly went for the HDD with the recovery. and i did disable fast boot.

1,2,3,4) I dont have the HHD here right now but i will come back to this tomorrow or later this day (US time)


And Thanks again Dannemand and John Ratsey for good help