Samsung 2012 Series 7 Chronos (NP700Z3, NP700Z4 & NP700Z5 series) Owners Lounge

does anybody tried windows 8 on series 7 NP700Z5, will be Express Cache working on it ?

 

Yes, I upgraded to Windows 8 on series NP700Z5, but unfortunately software Update given by Samsung at
SAMSUNG PC Windows 8 Upgrade
is not working. Although driver of Express Cache get installed but there is not way to check if it is working. Easy display manager and Easy software manager are not working.

 

If you open an elevated command prompt (Run as Administrator) and go to the Express Cache folder ( C:\Program Files\Diskeeper Corporation\ExpressCache in Win7, dunno in Win8) you can run the command ECCmd -INFO to see if it is working.

I haven't tried Win8 on the Sammy myself.

 

Thanks for the tip. Now I can confirm that express cache is running under windows 8 pro using driver for windows 7 provided by Samsung (driver version: ExpressCache_64bit_1.0.86.0).

 

Great, thanks for the update. That's good to know

 

thank you for help! i hope that easy setting will be working too

 

Current version of Easy setting (Easy_Settings_1.1.1.4) do not work with windows 8 -- that even do not get installed.

 

so you can´t adjust brightness of display, keyboard or use any other Fn Keys ?

 

There are work-arounds such as discussed in this thread. Proper Windows 8 support should follow.

John

 

Hi, really sorry if this was already addressed before but it's a bit hard to backread... I have a NP700Z5A-S03US, I've barely used it because 90% of the time, I end up using my office laptop. Anyhow, I started using it now again and I noticed something. The battery had run out the last time I used it so I plugged in the charger and booted it up. For some reason, the battery meter wasn't moving. And when I moved the cursor over it, it said "0% available (plugged in, not charging)". Can someone help me with this? I can't seem to figure it out. Thanks in advance!

 

If you left the battery fully drained for some months then it may struggle to get back into life. First check the battery properties using HWiNFO and see if you get the same information. Then I would run the Battery Calibration option in the BIOS and see if it can get the battery back into life.

John

 

Sorry but please pretend that I have no idea what to do. Can you give me a step-by-step instructions on this? I have no idea what "HWiNFO" is and how to go to the Battery Calibration option. by the way, I didn't leave it for months. Every week or so, I would use this laptop at home...

 

1. You can get HWiNFO here. If you get the zip file version then unzip it to a folder and run the HWiNFO program. You can (a) check the battery properties and (b) the charging status (using the Sensors panel).

2. To get into the BIOS press the F2 key a few times immediately after turning on / rebooting the computer when the BIOS screen briefly shows. Then go to the Boot page and select Smart Battery Calibration. Then follow the instructions.

However, a couple of other things you can try to reset the battery info before running the calibration. (i) With the computer running, remove the power plug. if the battery is indeed at 0% charge the computer should go off. (ii) With the computer off, turn the computer over and look for a small hole in the bottom next to a symbol with a rectangle with X inside. This is the battery disconnect switch. Unbend a paper clop and poke into the hole. Then open the computer and, without the mains cable connected, hold down the power button for half a minute. Then reconnect the mains and press the button to start the computer.

John

 

I like the matte screen on the 15.6 but im hearing about a lot of small but nonetheless issues....i hate to be nitpickey but spending that much i guess you have to be....Im gonna be using mostly cs5 or 6 with some possibility of gaming..not alot...im wondering which setup from the samsung series 7 would be a good option

 

i would recommend you the setup with biggest amount of ram

 

Did you do an update or a clean install? I tried a clean install on my NP700Z5A and after copying all the files it reboots and then just sits there with the whole screen blinking white, then black, then white, then... rinse and repeat.

Has anyone done a successful clean install of Win8 (on a NP700Z5 of course).

Thanks!
Shawn

 

Yes, I clean installed windows 8 on my NP700Z5. I booted my laptop from windows 8 CD (I had RTM .iso file and burned it on a CD), and during the initial part of the installation process when windows say about the type of installation you want, I opted for advanced and formatted my hard disk. I do not believe in upgrade of an OS either windows or mac OS, because I did it couple of times in my lifetime and I always felt problems later on.
Make sure in a BIOS setup you set first boot up drive as CD and it is not set for UEFI. You can go for UEFI option in the BIOS setup but for that you have to delete all partitions of a hard disk first including restore partition -- I went for UEFI option and deleted all partitions of the hard disk.

 

Hi, I'm interested in some detail about the 700Z3C's and 700Z5C's discrete graphics (no 700Z4C here in Germany, but 700Z3C is 14" anyway), since I don't get all the details from reviews because of incomplete GPU-Z screenshots.

According to Samsung Homepage, 700Z3C should have a GT 630M 1GB GDDR5. Am I right that GDDR5 for GT 630M means 64-Bit memory interface? Because the only GPU-Z Screen of a 630M GDDR5 I saw (from a Dell XPS 14) showed this, but showed 8 ROPs as well, which can't be right with GF108. So I would like to know: Is only the GF108 used or the GF117 as well, which clockspeed is applied, what mem-interface does it hace and how many ROPs are shown? a GPU-Z screenshot would be prefered.

With 700Z5C things seem to be much easier, since I haven't seen anything leading me to suspect anything less than a GT 640M 1GB GDDR5, meaning full GK107 with 625MHz GPU and 1GHz memory clock. Only if I am wrong and someone has different clockspeeds, correct me.

And what I'd like to know too: AFAIK, i7-3615QM and 3635QM are BGA-1224 only and their PGA-988 only counterparts are i7-3610QM/3630QM, while all other standard power mobile ivy bridge (having a 3xx0M or 3xx0QM number) can be both PGA-988 or BGA-1023/1224.

That would suggest, 700P5C uses BGA-CPUs, which means soldered directly to the PCB and irreplacable. 700Z3C uses i5-3210M only, which could be both PGA or BGA. Of course I'd like to know if the CPU on these laptops is really soldered to thea board, which would pretty much make them uninteresting to me.

 

I wonder if anyone could possibly provide me with some info about their recovery partition. I have an NP700Z5A-S0AUS and the hard drive died on me (nothing but bad sectors read from x-ways forensics)....so I can't get any info off of it. I'm trying to setup another new drive, but can't even get SRS Admin Tools to work with it.

Is there anyone that could give me partition/file/directory info on it for creating it manually?

I have a couple of backups (.wcl, .woo, etc) but no way to work with them. Help!!!

I would be okay with just a clean win7 install, but I can no longer get my well-used widi to work anymore....assuming it's a driver thing as it connects, screen flashes, detects a firmware update available, but then flashes a second time and disconnects ("unable to display...")


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Someone once posted these instructions:

It's possible that the tool puts a simple script file on the flash drive (in addition to various programs) and this file contains the commands to create the partition and make it the right type. However, I can't check for you since I don't have the recovery partition on my current SSD and the recovery console won't work without it.

John

 

John already beat me to it, but here is a more detailed description of how to re-create the Recovery Partition. (Sorry if I add too much detail, I am trying to make it useful for others as well):

1) Make sure you have a SRS5 Admin Tool USB drive, which you had to create in Management Mode while your original Recovery was still working: [CTRL]+[ALT]+[F10], password: secclx (SECCLX). Sounds like you have this already.

2a) Make sure you have a file/folder backup of the contents of your original Recovery Partition. I prefer to use PartEd Magic LiveCD for this (free download), but you can also use DISKPART in Win7 to change the ID from 27 (Hidden Recovery type) to 07 (standard NTFS) then add a drive letter in Disk Manager. Change it back after completing backup. Ask if you need details.

You can even boot your Windows Setup DVD (or USB), open Command Prompt (Shift-F10) and use XCOPY /E to copy the files and folders from the Recovery Partition to a flash drive or memory card.

This is the contents of the Recovery Partition on my NP700Z3A:



2b) Alternatively (and at the very least) use SRS to backup the Inital Image (Samsung factory installation) to a 16GB or larger USB flash drive (external HDD won't work).

2c) Restoring a partition image backup (Acronis, Terabyte, WIM etc) may work for you, but I could never get F4 working this way.

3) In BIOS, enable USB Legacy Boot, disable UEFI, disable Fast BIOS Boot (if you have that).

4) Boot the SRS USB Admin Tool from a USB2 port (booting from a blue USB3 port will load the Recovery partition, NOT the USB Admin Tool). I prefer to hit ESC immediately after power on and select my boot device (F10 on some models). Or you can set Boot Priority in BIOS.

5) Once SRS Admin Tool is loaded, the best approach if your disk is messed up is to use STEP 1: Disk Partitioning, but all partitions on your disk will be wiped. Alternatively use STEP 2: Initial Recovery Area, which will only wipe your Recovery partition -- but may not work if you re-partitioned your disk previously. Hit Execute for either one of these options.

If you use STEP 2 you get another chance to re-partition the disk (which of course will wipe it) and select a size of the Recovery Partition. Or just click Next. The recovery partition on my Sammy is 22.5GB, but the closest I can select in SRS is 23GB.

This will re-create a blank Recovery Partition with the necessary boot files and F4 enabled.

6) If you made a backup of your Initial Image to a USB flash drive, you now have the option to restore this image. You may have to swap out the USB Admin Tool flash drive if you only have one USB2 port. USB3 will not work here, neither will external hard drives.

7) Close USB Admin Tool by clicking the close window [X] which reboots the PC.

You should now be able to boot F4 and restore the Samsung factory installation.

If you CANNOT boot F4, try booting the USB Admin Tool again and use the Fix MBR function -- but I would only do this if I didn't have any valuable partitions or data on the disk.

8) If you have a full file/folder backup of the original Recovery Partition, you will need to copy them back to the re-created partition. Once again, PartEd Magic LiveCD makes this a snap. Otherwise you will have to install Windows and use DISKPART to make the partition visible; or run XCOPY from the Command Prompt in Windows Setup.

In addition to the Initial Image (which you may have restored already, the .wcl, .woo etc files) you will want to restore the SystemSoftware folder. It allows Easy Software Manager to install all drivers, utilities and Windows patches after a clean Installer -- even without a network connection.

Let me know if that works for you.

Edit: I though that quote in John's post sounded familiar It's from this post in the 14" Samsung Series 7 NP700Z3C thread.

 

You are evidently the expert in this subject. My apologies for not crediting you for the info I posted but I had saved the basic instructions in a text file without recording the source.

John

 

LOL

It happens to me all the time: I know the answer to a question and want to credit whoever posted it originally, but it will take a long time to find that post -- and just 3 mins to post the answer.

No problem, none whatsoever!

 

Thanks! The issue seems to have been trying to install it via a USB key vs. DVD. Once I burned it onto a DVD it installed without a problem.

Next question, did you also install the Windows 8 "SW Update" app from the Samsung website? I installed it but every time I try to run it I get the same message, "An unknown error has occurred. Please try again later.(-1)".

 

Does anyone else's screen look like this?



It looks great most of the time and even blacks look completely black but when something is loading, there is this spottiness to it. I noticed that I can actually see it while playing some games, it's a subtle shadow on the right side that gets more noticable for some colors. Is this something to contact Samsung about or am I overreacting?

 

Just checked, best buy will be carrying their edition starting Friday.

 

wow! Thanks so much for the comprehensive info! I really appreciate it!

Unfortunately, I didn't get any original image info from the original drive, only my backup copies of mostly virgin setup (and all I get from it now are CRC errors when I try to read it with most anything to attempt recovery). But I did get a copy downloaded of admin tools...the bad thing about it is it's not exactly my model apparently, as it doesn't take the 8gb SSD disk 1 that is part of the hard drive. That is what is giving me headaches. I managed to setup a recovery partition onto it, but it won't allow my 40gb backup image, obviously.

My next attempt is going to be to see if I can alter the boot.wim to select the appropriate disk/partition, as I did notice where those settings were in the admin tools environment....nothing like a challenge, right? LOL

 

Thank you for the feedback

If you have a file & folder copy of the "almost virgin" Recovery Partition, there is a good chance of re-creating it.

BUT when you say you downloaded SRS Admin Tool, I suspect it is the ISO of the AdminTool for SRS5 CD that's floating out there. I tried that one too and was never able to re-create a Recovery Partition with it and make it F4 bootable. Maybe I didn't try hard enough...

The USB Admin Tool I am talking about is created directly on a USB flash drive using SRS Management Mode on your own PC. It's a few hundred MB, including all the software necessary to create a new Recovery Partition.

Now, if indeed the Admin Tool you have is that downloaded AdminTool for SRS5 CD, I cannot give you details, but here is what you are looking for:

1) Find a way in that AdminTool to re-partition your HDD and create a Recovery Partition in the process, making it large enough to accommodate the backup you have. The key here is to be able to boot that Recovery, preferably with F4. That is the tricky part. (Unfortunately, making the partition Active is not enough).

2) Copy all files and folders from your Recovery backup to the newly created Recovery partition, overwriting everything (to get the correct version). I hope you backed up everything, not just the .woo, .wcl etc files.

Again, I highly recommend downloading PartEd Magic and making yourself a LiveCD. You don't have to know ANYTHING about Linux to use it, and it allows you to make partition changes and manage files and folders, including copying to/from external drives.

3) If your newly created Recovery is F4 bootable and has the original Recovery files & folders on it, you're done! You can just go ahead and restore the Samsung factory installation. Do yourself a favor and create a USB AdminTool flash drive this time in case you ever need it.

4) If your new Recovery is NOT F4 bootable (but contains the files & folders from your original Recovery), you can use Grub4DOS to "force boot" it. I tried that earlier this summer, and below are the notes I wrote for myself: (I got the idea from another post, and now I am the one unable to give proper credit, because I don't know which post and which forum )

Once you're booted in Recovery, go to Management Mode (CTRL-ALT-F10, password secclx) and create a USB AdminTool flash drive. Now can can boot that USB AdminTool and use it to re-partition (again) and thus create a Recovery with the correct version that's F4 bootable.

Of course the question is whether it's worth all the trouble to get that Recovery back. You could just clean install Windows and be done with it. Lots of people delete their Recovery Partition anyway. But if you want to sell the PC, I can see it would be nice to deliver it in factory state.

Let me know how it goes for you.

 

I have the 15inch Chronos and it runs cool as a kitten for all but the most intense games. Even then, the keys only get pleasantly warm, even after playing for 2+ hours

 

Awesome. Planning to grab the win 8 model at best buy due to price (although I guess after today the win 7 model just got wiped out : p )

Hopefully W8 won't be too traumatizing..

 

Just noticed that Amazon has the older Z5A-S09US listed for $799.99 now: Amazon.com: Samsung Series 7 NP700Z5A-S09US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Silver): Computers & Accessories

 

Anyone having problems with Windows 8 and commutable graphics? My SW Update always detects that a graphics card is not installed. When I install it, SW UPDATE detects that the other GPU is not installed! The process never ends, and for what I see, the ATI GPU is not being used in gaming...
By the way, i coudn`t make my Windows 7 Ultimate to show Express Cache in Easy Settings. Now, after a clean install of Windows 8 , the new ES called just Settings is showing the EC Tab!
I couldn`t find a thread about this notebook Samsung Series 7 NP700Z5A-S0AUS and Windows 8....

 

That is an excerpt from my conversation at SAMSUNG LIVE CHAT:
" Magorei: the driver provided in the Settings Software is not working properly
Magorei: this machine has 2 commutable GPUs , and only one is working, the Intel GPU.
Sammy: I am sorry to say that the drivers and the software are not available for Windows 8.
Sammy: Samsung officially has not released the windows 8 driver and all software programs. If there is any update on the release from the Samsung, the information will update on the Samsung website in news section.
Sammy: Samsung is working on this issue and it will update soon on the Samsung website.

 

so i better wait with upgrade till samsung release proper drivers for win 8

 

I have the same problem with graphics driver on Windows 8. It's a never ending loop of two different graphics drivers jostling to be installed.

 

Hey guys. Check my other post at topic Windows 8 Fn-key. I just download a new version of Samsung graphic driver from SWUpdate. It has been released since 2 days ago. It solves every problem that you guys currently have. :thumbsup:

 

Hi, I'm not sure if I should post this here, I registered to get some help or advice. I have the NP700Z5C and recently, I am having some issues with it. It is new, about a month old, and now when I put it to sleep or hibernate for long periods of time it will not recover. Even if I shut it down, when I try to power it up, the main screen flickers on and off multiple times, before prompting me saying there is a problem loading Windows. I tried to run recovery and it will not work the first few times. After a few tries to boot it up, it will work. I am facing this for the past 2-3 days now every time I try booting up the laptop. Anyone facing this issue?

 

Hey quick question, I am looking to put win8 on my Z3A and I was wondering if you guys are doing clean installs or upgrades, if clean install will I need to do anything to get the express cache and samsung programs working again?

 

Please help me! I have a np700z5c but when I was cleaning the keyboard, I accidentally lifted the '1' key on the number pad. It came off and I have no idea how to put it back on!

 

so i upgraded to windows 8, everything seems to work all Fn Keys, graphic card etc. I dont see in Settings (new Easy settings) menu for Express Cache so i dont know if it is woking, but driver for it was succesfully installed.

 

HI guys, I thinking about put back the 1Tb Hitachi HDD which I replace with 128Gb Crucial M4. I saw that HDD caddy from newmodeus.com is right one for this notebook, but i have no experience about repleacing Optical drive with caddy.
So i would be grateful if someone could post guide how to do it, prefeafably with pictures. ;-)

 

Does anyone know where i can get replacement screws for this laptop or the 14" version

 

I managed to break a screw while closing my NP700Z5C-S01US up and i was wondering if you all could point me in the direction of some screws i can buy to replace it.
I need one of the black screws that hold the case on. My estimate is that they are 7mm screws. I also stripped a silver 5mm screw that holds the hard drive caddy in. Would something like this work?

Samsung NP-Q430 Laptop Screw Set Of Screws ScrewSet OEM on eBay!

Also as a heads up to anyone opening theirs, the screws are fragile!!! The corners of the plastic enclosure are also fragile and cracks begin to appear after it has been opened several times (any advice on touching that up would be appreciated as well!

 

@mattwd6: Please do not cross-post: See my response here.

John

 

My apologies, I was looking for a quick response and thought it would contribute to both threads.

 

Hi all,

Looking for a bit of advice.

I got the Samsung Series 7 NP700Z5C-A01UK last week and very happy with it. However, tonight i started hearing some popping/crackling coming from the top left of the laptop where the power plus in. It only does it when its plugged in and not on battery. Has anyone else had this and if so, what was it?

Cheers

 

My initial thought is a connection problem. Is the power plug pushed in all the way? Is there any burning smell? Also, is there any loudspeaker in the vicinity which coincidentally could be making a noise?

John

 

Yep, pushed all the way in. No burning smell. No, its definitely coming from the connector as it only does it while on battery.

Phoned Samsung yesterday and they offered to to repair it to which they were promptly told to eff off as the laptop is only 8 days old! Phoned my insurance company where the laptop came from and they are going to replace it.

 

Hi guys!

I have bought a samsung series 7 chronos 15,6" and I am very happy with this laptop overall (exact model: NP700Z5C-S02SE). But recently I had this weird sound experience, where the sound was distorted and it got worse and worse and suddenly there was only a loud "BEEP". I then switch to silent mode and rebooted my laptop. Since then the sound has been fine... but i have also started to notice (after the weird sound incident) that my screen is "flickering". It looks like i have a low refresh rate... you know like a older big display where the screen just flicker all the time. The "flickering" is not always visible for me tho. The "flickering" is more visible in darker colors, like blue and grey-black, etcetc and I am always annoyed by this know. Before the weird sound incident i didn't notice this "flickering" screen, which is weird becuase i have had the laptop for almost 3 months, but know after the incident and after i noticed it, I can't stop thinking about it. My refresh rate is 60Hz (which i think should be enough) and for some reason this is the only refresh rate I can have. Has anyone also had this experience of a "flickering" screen?

EDIT: i did just plug my power supplier in and the flickering went away... this problem does only come when the laptop is on battery power.

Have a nice day

 

nenvall I also have a weird sound issue sometimes where my speaers will randomly start to make very strange noises. Sometimes it's a high pitched whine, other times it sounds like a motorcycle revving up, and a bunch of other stuff. It mutes when I hit mute, and comes back when unmuted. Sometimes it'll keep going forever until I disable and enable the Realtek Sound Driver and other times it'll go away on its own if I pause all music/sounds and wait for it to go away.

This happens probably once every two weeks.

In short, the sound driver on some of these laptops apparently has a problem because I didn't see anyone else complaining about it. I used to have the .6699 driver provided by Samsung but have since downgraded to .6662 from Realtek's website. Both drivers have the weird sound problem described above, however on my laptop when it had the .6699 driver, sound would be disabled sometimes on startup or when returning from sleep, randomly. So the downgrade at least fixed that problem.

I'm not sure what the issue with your screen is, it may be defective unfortunately.