Samsung BIOS Update Problems

A few people have reported problems with the latest BIOS updates causing their computers to hang. Here, here and here for example.

*** If you have installed Windows 10 then see the note at the end***

So I think it could be beneficial to start a specific thread to try to identify the causes of the problem and the solutions.

First I should note that I have, with a little trepidation, updated the BIOS on both my NP900X3B and NP900X4C today, but it went smoothly. However (and this may be the reason) I downloaded the BIOS updates using the BIOSupdate.exe program (called "Update Software") which is available from the Samsung download centre. This program provides the option to run the update or download it. I opted for the latter. I then ran the update (right-click As Administrator) within Windows. The update then opens a DOS window showing a simple progress graphic. After this there is a prompt to restart the computer.

How have those people who have had BIOS update problems done the updates? Is is using SW Updater? And how does the BIOS update process in SW Update work: Does it run within Windows or reboot the computer first?

John

PS: And for those whose computers with internal batteries which won't start after a failed BIOS update, there is a battery reset hole.

PPS: The new BIOS should have the same last 3 letters in the name as the old one which normally don't change during the production of a particular model (there are exceptions - Windows 7 NP900C4Cs have P**AAC while Windows 8 NP900X4Cs have P**ABK). It seems that the BIOS Update program occasionally finds the wrong newer BIOS. This is what it offered me on 1st April:

View attachment 110714

Re-running the BIOS Update program resulted in the correct BIOS being offered.

PPPS: There is a report here of BIOS Update.exe finding the wrong BIOS several times. Please check whether the last three letters of a new BIOS name match the last three letters of the existing BIOS before proceeding with an update. From what I've seen the new BIOS installer checks whether the letters match before loading a new BIOS but it is best to not run the wrong BIOS in case the check doesn't work.

An Update Relating to Windows 10
Windows 10 may block the BIOS Update program from running due to the software publisher.
See http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachments/bioserror-jpg.126465/.

If this occurs then edit the properties of the BIOSUpdate.exe program to unblock it.

See http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachments/unblock-jpg.126474/

And if that doesn't work then read this post later in this thread with another work-around:

" just open up a command prompt/powershell with admin priv, and open the .exe file via the prompt".

John

 

I used samsung's sw updater.
I've repeatedly had problems with it - telling me that an update was available - but then the update failed, it's often taken several tries to get the update to succeed - it's really too bad, because it's a beautiful machine.

Sent from my SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

Failed updates is a separate issue. I also encountered that problem today and it was a serious problem about a month ago. I think the guy whose job is to stoke the boiler that runs the engine that powers the server has taken some holiday. Or maybe they just didn't anticipate the traffic arising from a million Samsung notebooks concurrently trying to download bloated (they tend to include 32 and 64 bit) update installers.

My recommendation for the BIOS update is to use the separate BIOS update program. However, there's no easy alternative to using SW Update for most updates because they aren't on the download pages for most of the notebooks (but this is an exception).

John

 

I just tried updating the BIOS on my NP900X3C using SW Update and it failed 3 out of 3 times, each time freezing at a different spot when showing the progress display in the DOS window. I had to stick a pin in the reset hole each time to recover.

Then I tried BIOSUpdate.exe like John suggested and it worked the first time.

After the BIOS update my U100 wouldn't boot anymore, although it was showing up as the only boot device in the list. I had to re-enable UEFI mode in the BIOS (it gets reset to default after the update) in order to get it to boot again. I enabled UEFI before I did a clean install of Windows 8 and it's required in order to boot now. Still not sure what it does...

 

Thanks for the information! Samsung needs a swift kick! You can decide where

It's unconscionable that the tech that I spoke to - had only two options - power button or ups! I'm happy that I figured out that tiny reset hole ;-)

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I've used Samsung's BIOSUpdate.exe at least half a dozen times, both as install and download, and never had issues with either. Have never tried updating through the SW Update.

 

I updated my Series 7 bios through SW Update in windows 7 in anticipation of installing windows 8 on 11/26. The update bios update went fine. I installed windows 8 and all the other drivers through SW Update the same day. Anyway, today, SW Update is failing on everything saying there is a problem with the network.

 

My series 9 15 got stuck while updating the bios too. Disconnecting the battery using the pinhole and re plugging the power cable solved the problem. Looks like Samsung built some kind of internal mechanism to restore the bios.

 

It seems so - But it REALLY *BLANKS* me OFF on at least two levels! 1)That Samsung is releasing the bios update in it's current state 2)That they are NOT informing ALL of their tech support of the possible solution - I wonder how many pcs have been shipped back to Samsung for needless warranty claims?
For an otherwise terrific company, this is beyond inexcusable!

I've sent Samsung an email, followed up with a phone call - I would urge all that have experienced frustration / errors to do the same :thumbup:

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What is the current BIOS running? I haven't seen any new BIOS updates released through SW update.

Edit: I just ran SW Update and found the new BIOS update. I restarted the computer before opening SW update again and then updating the BIOS. It downloaded and installed promptly. Then it prompted for a reboot. Windows initialized and after logging back in SW Update finished the BIOS flash. I am now running version P05AAC. I'll respond with any issues if they pop up, but the computer is running fine. I did have to turn the Battery Life Extender back on.

I am running windows 8.

 

This post points to UEFI as a possible cause of BIOS update problems.

John

 

Just a warning to anyone trying to do this, your computer will fail to boot if you just change it in the bios without converting the disk to MBR first. I don't know how to convert it so i'm just going to install windows7 again with uefi disabled.

Here was the original thread where i found this... http://forum.notebookreview.com/samsung/695000-cant-update-bios-series-9-np900x3a.html

 

John, thanks for setting up the thread -- I wanted to note that there may be a "third" way to download software/drivers: in particular, there is the "Find Model" option in SW Update, which allows the user to enter any model number, and it pulls up an apparently complete list of downloads for the corresponding machine. One caveat, though -- it doesn't seem to include a BIOS download option.

EDIT: I mean this as an alternative to having SWUpdate automagically decide which files you need. This is also a nice way to get everything prior to a wipe/resintall.



-Matt

 

Update!

I can confirm, using UEFI was indeed my bios update issue! Bios update installed fine as soon as i reinstalled windows 7 using MBR.

 

Were you using the BIOS update within SW Update or the separate BIOSupdate.exe program?

John

 

I remember when flashing a bios update - took all of 30 seconds. What a PITA!

Sent from my SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

I have updated/downgraded several times but i initially used sw update within windows 7 without uefi and was successful. I would image it would have failed if i had been using uefi because i speculate that sw update downloads and runs the exact same files in the background as running the exe would. My problems started after that when i installed windows 8 and thought now would be a good time to enable uefi. That was a choice that ended up costing me hours of time because i had no idea this mattered at all to a bios update.

 

Enabling UEFI should not matter if Samsung have set things up correctly. One purpose of this thread is to try and find out what method of doing a BIOS update works as well as what doesn't work.

John

 

Precisely!

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I've tried the bios update 4 times now, using SW Update and BIOSUpdate.exe (both options) and its failed all 4 times...(and had to reset the battery 4 times). I'm really not sure what to do next.

 

At least we know the battery reset fix seems to work.

Are you running Windows 7 or 8? Is UEFI enabled or disabled?

John

 

"seems" being an alarming word, in this case. Presently the Samsung is my only pc that's functioning with the peripherals that I need, so I am more than a little reluctant to try flashing the bios update until there's evidence that it will work.
I'm running Win8 & I've only tried it with the sw updater.
I'm not familiar with how to change the eufi in any event.

Sent from my SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

I've posted my findings here > http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...series-7-17-3-np700z7c-s01ub.html#post8966966

If you have high cpu and a second hard drive installed, that's likely the culprit. Remove the second drive and your cpu will back down to 0-1% idle.

EDIT: oops posted this to wrong thread....can be removed if someone has the power.

 

I'm running Windows 8. How do I check whether UEFI is enabled or disabled?

Thanks,

 

In your bios on boot (F2) you should see an option in there for UEFI, if you don't see it you might see "secure boot" enabled, if you disable that you have options for UEFI/legacy/both

 

I used SW Update. It downloaded the BIOS update and then hung up on "updating". I rebooted and went into System Setup, which showed version P05AAC. When Windows 7 started SW Update said the update was complete.

NP900X3C

 

I've checked now. Windows with UEFI disabled.

 

So we can't blame UEFI for your problems. When using the BIOSupdate.exe did you first download the BIOS update then run it (right click As administrator)? If not, try that.

John

 

I had already tried that, but I thought what the heck may as well try it again. This time though I purged any processes which weren't necessary and then ran it as you said above and finally it worked.

 

Thanks for the update.

John

 

Neither Secure Boot or UEFI is enabled on my system either, but I am somewhat apprehensive of trying to flash the bios again..... How confident should I be that the battery reset will "rescue" my pc in the event that it hangs again?
I have downloaded BIOSupdate. exe, which from what I understand seems to be preferred to Samsung's s/w updater?
Thanks in advance.


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I can't promise that it will work but using BIOSupdate.exe to download the actual update executable which then runs in a DOS box within Windows and finishing with a normal Windows reboot seems to be the least traumatic route. At least that's what happens on my Series 9 running Windows 7.

John

 

I guess that perhaps part of my concern is, that I'm running Win8 - it's also not particularly clear as to what the benefits of flashing the bios update are, other than the "improved stability" touted by Samsung?

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If you aren't having any problems, i recommend not flashing. "improved stability" can mean something annoying like increasing fan speeds even if you weren't having problems with with stability at the current levels. That is what happened in my case and why i ended up wasting hours trying to downgrade. It isn't worth the risk, especially with all the problems being reported. Don't fix what isn't broken!

 

You know, you're absolutely right! It's the devil of always wanting the latest updates - Must Resist! :banghead:

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I know the feeling. It always ends up getting me too. After wasting 2 days updating, downgrading, and panicking i that i bricked my system, my resistant to upgrades has grown stronger!

 

Well, I couldn't resist the urge any longer..... The temptation to flash was too strong.... But this time it worked without a hitch. The Bonus is that there's no bizarre noises from the fan, or odd flickering on the screen - I'll take it as an early Christmas present from Samsung

fyi, I used the Samsung s/w updater and I am on win8 ;-)

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2

 

HI
I have a Samsung QX411-W01 one year and a half old.
Few days ago Samsung has released the W8 Drivers and a Bios update for my model.

I'm runing W8 and everything works fine, I would like to update but there is no changelog about the update

My most doubt (scary) it's about to run linux live or whetaver LIve OS after update related to UEFI and Secure Boot.


After your bios updates are u able to run other sistems from USB/CD?

Thx!

 

Check this thread about how to do the BIOS roll-backs. It might contain an example of the Linux compatibility problem you are worried about (it has happened - if not in that thread then it's somewhere).

John

 

I'm not able to update my NP900X3B to the latest BIOS P09AAH. I downloaded the full BIOS update file and try to update (run as admin) but it always fails - there is some kind of error in the command prompt window that goes away too fast. After the reboot, it just prompts me again to update the bios. Can anyone help?

I found the following errors in the system event log...

The iocbios2 service failed to start due to the following error:
The system cannot find the path specified.

The TDKLIB service failed to start due to the following error:
The system cannot find the file specified.

 

Did you make any settings changes or do the update differently to get it to work, or were you just lucky? I have a new Samsung NP350E7C-A01US and I keep getting "Update Failed(-502)" when using Samsung's SW Update. I have not yet checked my Secure Boot or UEFI settings.

 

Did you try using the BIOS Update program (link in first post) to download the file then run it (possibly As Administrator)?

John

 

Did you make any settings changes or do the update differently to get it to work, or were you just lucky? I have a new Samsung NP350E7C-A01US and I keep getting "Update Failed(-502)" when using Samsung's SW Update. I have not yet checked my Secure Boot or UEFI settings. I am using Windows 8.

 

No, I did not. I forgot to mention I'm using Windows 8. Since my notebook is working well, I'd rather not try anything unusual. Other Samsung customers with the same model notebook have the exact same problem and error code, and I'm waiting for some kind of response from tech support.

 

I have tried all options, both SW Update and downloading it then running as admin. Update failed (-10) is what i get. The other download option i do not get the DOS box, just nothing happens after i run as admin!! I have a NP300E7A-A05UK its getting frustrating! Samsung just keep palming me off with try in a few days or couple of weeks, so obviously they do not know the problem!!! Seems ther is more help on here, so well done guys..

 

One week back I have updated BIOS of laptop N530U4B-S02AE to new version 12XK. after updating bios, my USB drives are not showing in boot list. is there any chance to roll back to previous version 11XK which was showing usb drives in boot list. How can I get version 11XK. I am used SW update to update bios. here i am attaching a log file View attachment 91706

 

Turn off the Fast Boot option in the BIOS if you want the USB boot devices. Fast Boot skips looking for those devices in order to boot quicker.

The BIOS updates reset to Samsung's chosen defaults (I have to remember to re-enable the Battery Life Extender after a BIOS update).

John

 

Thank you very much Mr. John, its works now :hi2:

 

After spending several days exchanging emails with Samsung tech support on my BIOS Update Failed(-502) problem, all they could say was that the cause was due to a server connection time-out error due to heavy traffic at a server in Korea. Their only suggestions were to keep trying the SW Update, preferably late at night or early morning, and if that doesn't help, try restoring the PC to it's factory(out-of-the-box) state and try updating again. I then tried at 3:00AM and it still failed. I then did a "refresh", which is almost like an out-of-the-box reset, except it saves your personal files, and it downloads and installs 23 pieces of software, including SW Update. The only software that didn't successfully install was the BIOS with the same 502 error at 5:00AM. I asked tech support if the BIOS is the only software that comes from the congested server in Korea, but they haven't responded yet.

I'm wondering if my relatively slow internet connection is part of the problem. It's Verizon DSL with 5 Mbits/s download and 700 Kbits/s upload. I may take the PC to Staples where I bought it and ask to use their internet connection.
Also wondering if I need to go into BIOS Setup and create a Supervisor (Administrator) password, because maybe the update checks that.
All that's left for me is a complete reset and if that don't work, get either a refund or an exchange for another of the same model.

 

Just updated my bios on Samsung 700Z5C and having no problems, used SW update.