Samsung 15" Series 9 NP900X4C with Ivy Bridge CPU

Actually, the latest driver from Intel's download center is 15.6.1 from March 19. Wireless_15.6.1_Ds64 for Win7 and Wireless_15.6.1_De64 for Win8. Those are the Driver Only versions which I would recommend.

If the full PROset packages were previously installed (from Samsung or from Intel) I recommend those be uninstalled before installing the Driver Only ones.

But above all, if one's Wi-Fi is working just fine, leaving it alone is a great choice

Update: LOL seems we always tend to post smack on top of each other John. And you usually beat me to it

 

Do you also recommend to install the latest grahics driver:
(win64_15313.exe Version: 15.31.3.64.3071 Date: 03/22/2013 Size:148.73 MB)

Or is it better to wait for the Samsung SW Update to offer it?

 

I am sure I wouldn't be the best to answer that: I personally have a completely different model (NP700Z3A) with discrete AMD GPU. The Samsung provided AMD driver supports both the integrated Intel GPU and the AMD. After some snafus with the Samsung provided driver were finally resolved last spring, I've just been using their latest driver.

On my other laptop (an older HP with Nvidia GPU) I use the latest driver from Nvidia.com. But I don't game, so I am not representative in this area. Hopefully others will provide better response

 

What exactly should be uninstalled, is there something I can search for? I am worried about removing something essential.

 

Try the procedure described in this post.

But again, only do it if you have Wi-Fi problems. At least create a Restore Point first, so you can go back if something fails.

 

Thanks for that!

1) I downloaded Wireless_15.6.1_e64 (84 MB) using the Intel Driver Update Utility.

2) In Device Manager - Network adapters, is it Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6235 that I should uninstall?

3) In Programs and Features three programs are named "PROSet",

- Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless for Bluetooth(R) + High Speed - 15.5.4.0423 (5.68 MB)
- Intel(R) PROSet/WirelessSoftware for Bluetooth(R) Technology - 2.6.1209.0268 (89.4 MB)
- Intel(R) PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software - 15.05.6000.1620 (124 MB)

Are these the ones I should uninstall? Ignoring WiDi, Rapid Storage Technology, etc.

 

Check answers below.

Note that this will use just the basic Bluetooth drivers included with Win7/8, which is fine for BT mouse and keyboard. No need to install 100MB of bloated Bluetooth drivers unless you have specific needs for them.

Oh, and make sure to create that Restore Point before you start!

Let us know how it goes

 

Thanks again for your help Dannemand.

Unfortunately I am still having trouble with this latest driver. My wireless connection regularly drops out and when troubleshooting it resets the adapter giving the error "The default gateway is not available".

 

Thank you for that update. So that wasn't it.

Two more suggestions I can think of before calling Samsung:

1) Another router -- at a friend or even a Starbucks.

2) Alternatively (OR if your friend's router DID work): Back up your router's settings and do a complete Factory Reset of it. I know, that's more work. But you would be surprised how often the router turns out to be the problem.

We already discussed router Channel selection, right? Otherwise check John's post above. Oh what, here is a link

If you've also tried all the other tweaks in the posts I linked previously (Power Profile, Adapter Settings, Router & channel) I am afraid I am out of ideas. Again, I would call Samsung in that case. It could be a bad unit or a bad WiFi adapter. I am sorry

 

I FINALLY got the 6235 working. After trying over 20 different driver/install combinations as well as all the "tweaks" I could find on the internet, the only way I got this card to work was the following:

1. Removed driver and deleted software
2. Reboot and don’t allow windows to install driver
3. Use the Samsung sw update to install the original (15.0.0.75) driver NOT one that is an update.

Having spent 8+ hours on this and read page after page on the internet clearly this card or more precisely the driver is not ready for prime time, bit surprising as I had always had good luck with Intel in the past, maybe it is due to the fact this is an OEM only model ?

My advice to anyone with this card is if you have a working install DO NOT install any new drivers or change settings, yes they might provide a marginal performance increase they could also lead to basically bricking the card.

 

Good job, swm10021, finally getting it fixed. And sorry we got you on such a detour

For most users with this model and this Wi-Fi adapter, the newer drivers have been a clear improvement. To be honest, I think it may not have been that driver version itself that did it, so much as the uninstall/re-install process that finally "took" this time and flushed out the old, non-working registry entries.

But there is NO arguing against what works! And this is a clear demonstration that newer isn't always better -- if the old stuff is working right.

Again, good job. Enjoy your PC now

 

NEWS FLASH:
Your Samsung Series 9 machine is now called “ATIV Book 9”
The term "Ativ" is a reversal of the word "vita", meaning "life".

Samsung expands ATIV brand in bid to keep product names simple - SlashGear
and:
Samsung Rebrands Entire Windows PC Portfolio, Introduces Some Android Synergy - Forbes

 

Dannemand-

Believing as you did that my problems may have been due to some sticky piece of software or registry setting, I ignored my own advice and installed the latest driver....as you can guess after a few iterations and an hour of trying to get it to work no luck. Clearly there are issues with this card and the drivers (see the intel forums et al.)

So my advice to anyone having these problems would be to follow the steps I laid out, if anyone who has experienced these problems is able to get the newer drivers working I would love to hear how!

 

@swm10021: In fairness, I DO remember at least one other member (sorry, I forget who and where) who reported his Wi-Fi problems fixed by going back to the original Samsung provided driver. So it's not just you. Once again good job getting it working

 

Rolls eyes

 

The connection seems to work fine on a different router, so that's good. I did a Factory Reset on mine but still get the same problems, particularly when streaming/downloading large files. I think I am going to have to contact Sky to see if I can get them to send me a new router.

Thanks once again Dannemand you have been a great help.

 

The routers supplied free by Sky (and Virgin) are known to have more than their fair share of issues. When I got my Virgin system upgraded last year and was given a cable router /router instead of the previous standalone cable router I said I'll just use the cable modem part and continue with my own router. The router technology is progressively improving. A few months ago I invested in a dual band router so that different devices could connect on the different bands.

John

 

No problem, thank you for the update.

I hope it works out with a different router (as John mentioned). Even with a weak router (or maybe particularly) I would expect improvements by choosing a less congested Channel -- and possibly disabling Wireless-N as has been suggested. But of course if it's outright router bugs or incompatibilities between router and Wi-Fi adapter, you may have to get a different router.

The Asus N66U that John mentioned gets great reviews. I recently bought a TP-Link WDR3600, which is also dual channel (though only N450 -- and much cheaper than the Asus). I bought it for the exact reason John described: So that different devices can use 2.4 and 5.2 Ghz bands at the same time. This one has not been perfect (despite good reviews) but the dual channels really are great.

 

Yes, it is spinning. If I turn on the silent mode the noise stops until it starts spinning again. The noise is REALLY annoying because it is not the noise o air blowing (that I hear when the cooler is spinning fast under heavy load).

The noise is similar to this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4b6YwVsWjg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5puLUuskjTQ

I'm really disappointed, it's my first samsung laptop (and probably the last one) and I'm going to try my luck with the technical assistance after less than 2 months (and I'm not sure if they will accept it here because the machine was bought in another country).

 

I'm sorry that you are disappointed. I've been much happier with my X4C than with its predecessor (Lenovo T420s).

We had another incident of excessive fan noise in a Series 9. In that case, it went in for service and came back unchanged because the technician couldn't hear the noise. The owner bought a new fan from samsungparts.com, fitted it himself and the problem was fixed.

So when you send it in, ask if they can check the noise when in a quiet room. I suspect the average workshop has too much background noise.

John

 

Yes, I'm liking the machine, but problems with less than 2 months is too much!

I'm not finding the warranty papers, do you know if the X4C warranty is global (I bought mine in the UK)?

 

My X4C had a black cardboard wallet with all the paperwork (matching the black box for the computer). It includes the Warranty Information booklet. I have made this PDF of the relevant page describing the Limited International One year Warranty.

View attachment Samsung Intl Warranty.pdf

John

 

So I bought another 13" series 9. This time the 900x3c. About 800 dollars (8000SEK) for it with Win 7, Bluetooth mouse, micro-HDMI cabel and a realy nice lether sleeve. Great deal. Installed Win 8 pro and can´t be happier. I´m selling the 900x4c tomorrow. Pro is booting alot faste on my x3c than Home Premium is on the x4c for som reason!? Windows 8 have problems with wi-fi that W7 don´t have, that´s for shur. But this computer feels sooo much better with W8 to me.

Will be hanging in the 900x3c forum from now on.

 

Hi John, the same noise returned within a week or so after I replaced the fan, but I was too disappointed to report it. It is actually the same exact vibrating sound that is demonstrated in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4b6YwVsWjg

I can now see that it is not just my machine's fan that is making the buzzing noise.

The fan is operating because I can feel the air being blown out. At this point, I think I just have to live with the sound.

 

Is there any plastic foam on the heatpipe as there is on in my X4C?



I'm sure it is there to keep the base from touching the fan which will cause any sound to amplify. If you already have some foam then add a little more.

John

 

Yes, and the amount of foam is similar to yours. Do you recommend I add more foam? What kind of foam can I use?

It is so peculiar, because the grinding noise goes away dramatically when I tilt the laptop at angle.

 

Adding a little more foam - it needs to be slightly compressible and make it slightly thicker than the foam already there - is one measure to try but there are other things to look at. Something, somewhere, is passing the fan noise on to somewhere which resonates (with the base being the most likely culprit). A little piece of foam on the battery connector may also help stop the base from vibrating.

John

 

Any suggestions as to what kind of foam adhesive I should use? As always, many thanks for your help.

 

Whatever you can find as long as it is slightly compressible. You can temporarily fix it in place with a little of adhesive tape, sticky side outwards. The objective at this stage is to ensure that the base cannot vibrate and is not touching the fan. If that doesn't work then you have to look for anything else that might be able to move slightly. A doctor's stethoscope would probably find the trouble spot in very few minutes.

John

 

I got a replacement router from Sky and the connection has been great. It's only been a couple of days but is looking good!

Thanks again! :thumbsup:

 

hi, i've another problem whit my pc...

i connect to the router wifi end internet work properly but after, mor or less, an hour the connectin whit the router still remain but the browser tell me thet cannot open any page.
how can i solve it?

that appared after that i install w8 on my pc...

thank you

 

The usual cause of this problem is the Intel 6235 Wifi driver which has documented connectivity issues. Intel released a new driver in March that fixed the problem for many people but not everyone. Also, this thread has troubleshooting tips for that WiFi card. Check them out.

John

 

@jollaproject: If that latest drivers from intel.com doesn't solve the problem, you can try to just uninstall ALL WiFi drivers in Programs and Features and let it go back to the built-in Win8 driver.

Although I am generally a strong advocate of using Intel's Driver Only drivers -- and the latest 15.6.1 version from March, mentioned by John, has indeed solved issues for many users here -- we have also had a few cases lately where the opposite was true: WiFi problems resolved by uninstalling everything and going back to built-in Win8 drivers (or the factory supplied Win7 drivers). As I recall, those were all Series 9 cases, although I think that may have been a coincidence.

 

Having similar issues on an X3D-A01. Tried to have the user install the updated driver-only package, I'm not sure it took. There was no confirmation dialog, just an animation with a green dot loop that disappeared after a time. Looking at the thread I should try changing to a less congested channel, uninstall all intel wireless software, anything else?

Perhaps that thread should be repurposed to "Samsung Series 5,7,9 Wifi Issues (Intel 6235 Wifi Card)" or similar.

 

That is how it looks when you install the lean Driver Only package: Just an animated icon while it updates drivers and refreshes the device tree. No confirmation dialog. You can go to Device Manager and verify that it actually installed the latest version.

There WAS a version of the Intel driver that didn't actually take (I think it was 15.6). But the latest 15.6.1 (for both Win7 and Win8) has worked and solved issues for many users.

A few users have reported the opposite, where their connection problems would only be resolved by reverting back to the factory provided driver. In the case of Win8, you can also just uninstall all WiFi drivers from Programs and Features since it has built-in drivers for Intel 6230/6235 WiFi.

And you're right, that thread could be renamed to include other model series -- although it's been there for awhile and some members may have saved links to it (like the one in the Sticky list). It is one of several WiFi threads here -- plus many owners lounge threads cover WiFi too.

The best way to locate relevant discussions about this and other issues is usually a Google search like this: site:notebookreview.com/samsung wi-fi issues.

 

I think that is possible to live with this noise. Here what I usually do when the laptop is on the table is to start the execution of the of the WEI. It makes the fan work at full load and keeps it without the buzzing for a few time.

The problem is that at any other angle (inferior to 45 degrees) the buzz will come back really soon. Using it in a table or in a room with "regular people noise" like a classroom or a workroom is ok. But in a quiet room with the laptop over you (like in the bed) is really annoying.

I'm probably going to sell the laptop. It's really sad because because I really like the good things of it (especially the size/weight and the (real) matte screen).
Didn't try to sell it yet because here is really hard to find a good replacement (14.1 or 15 inches matte screen, at least 1600x900, less than 1.7kgs and thin).

 

I still think the buzz is fixable (since i don't have it) but it's impossible, at this distance, to figure out the cause. We don't all have a doctor's stethoscope in our toolbox.

John

 

Yes. And also I don't have courage to open it during the warranty time .

Another this, how is your battery wear?
I checked with the HWInfo and after 2 months mine is 2.4% (I usually use the life extender on). Until the cycle 31 was 1.2%, now in the cycle 41 is 2.4%.

 

My battery still reports 0% wear. In fact, the fully charged capacity is 63640mWh (more than the designed capacity) . It doesn't report the charge cycles (I think there must be two different batteries in circulation) but I doubt if would be more than 30 cycles (assuming that a cycle is equivalent to a full charge - discharge). The computer spends most of its life plugged in to the mains with the battery only needed when travelling or there's a power cut.

Watch your battery wear. If it gets to 10% then run the calibration in the BIOS which sometimes fixes the reported wear. If you get to 30% wear within a year then request a new battery under warranty. There was a bad batch of batteries for the X3B but very few reports of battery problems with the X3C and X4C. This figure about battery wear from Samsung's facebook page may be of interest:



John

 

I've just installed the latest 15.8 Intel WiFi driver (see this post for links) and, for the first time, my X4C will hold a reasonable internet connection (Speedtest says 8 Mb/s) at the other end of my house.

John

 

I tried to install
http://downloadmirror.intel.com/22741/eng/Wireless_15.8.0_De64.exe
but I get a big red warning message that " Windows can't verify the publisher of this driver software".
I am running Windows 7. From the release notes I gather that the drivers are made for Windows 8.
Is your system Win8?

 

That's it. Intel's Driver Only packages are named *De64.exe for Win8 64-bit and *Ds64.exe for Win7 64-bit.

Go to Intel's Download Center and use the filter shown below to search for the correct device. Then select your OS.

View attachment 95996

 

For Windows 7, Intel says the latest version is 15.​6.​1 dated 3/19/2013, which is what I already have.

I was trying to get the version 15.8 that John Mentioned.

Can I install a windows 8 driver on a Windows 7 system?

 

Yes, you're right. 15.6.1 is still the latest for Win7. Last time the Win8 release also came out first, then Win7 a few weeks later. Normally the Win8 driver will refuse to install on Win7, as you already found.

John, you're on Win7, right? How did you install 15.8.0?

 

I thought it worth trying since the 6235 driver page still offered the older version.

The driver only package installed quite happily. It took longer than the previous update as if it was doing something and Device Manager reports driver 15.7.0.3 dated 18th April 2013.

I'm sure that there can't be much difference between Win 7 and Win 8 drivers.

John

 

A 20 minute video review of the 13.3" Samsung Series 9 Ultrabook 900X3E model (released in April/May 2013 with a full HD matte 1920 x 1080 display) by MobileTechReview:
Samsung Series 9 (900X3E) Ultrabook Review - YouTube

Any news on when Samsung will come out with a 15" version with a matte 1920 x 1080 display?

 

I just found, like you, that the Win8 package DOES install under Win7, and driver version updates to 15.7.0.3. I was surprised that it installs, since previous versions of the installer ONLY installed on their intended Win version.

As huberth mentioned, Windows 7 display a verification error, but even if you choose NOT to proceed with the installation, installation proceeds anyway. That's an outright bug in the installer.

I noticed that Intel pulled the 15.8.0 package from their download center yesterday. Probably to fix this installer bug of the the Win8 package, and hopefully to release a proper Win7 package.

 

Samsung Series 9 vs. Samsung Series 7 Ultra Comparison Smackdown

Lisa Gade from MobileTechReview compares the Samsung Series 9 and the Samsung series 7 Ultra notebooks:

Samsung Series 9 vs. Samsung Series 7 Ultra Comparison Smackdown - YouTube

Any news on a 15" Series 9 (ATIV Book 9) Ultrabook with full HD?

 

I doubt if a 15" Series 9 update will appear until Haswell arrives, but perhaps I'm wrong. Someone has to gear up production of a 15.0" FHD panel - it's not a standard size.

John

 

Asus seems to have no trouble getting the 15" FHD displays for their ux51vx (aka U500VZ):
ASUS Zenbook Prime review (UX51Vz): a blazing 15-inch Ultrabook with a lofty price

and Haswell seems to be right around the corner:
Notebook brand vendors' new Haswell-based products have mostly been shipped and are estimated to arrive in retail channels worldwide at the end of May;
http://hexus.net/tech/news/laptop/55197-new-haswell-based-notebooks-have-mostly-shipped/