Samsung BIOS Update Problems

hello sir John, i have a Samsung NP- RV511- A05ae ~ i had a default OS of Win7 64bit installed when i bought it and my RAM is 3GB (1GB + 2GB) ~ but since my Ram is only 3GB i decided to just go for a 32bit OS since sometimes it bugs, after a few years i decided to upgrade my RAM so i bought a 4GB DDR3 1333 and everything is fine in a 32bit OS but this is an upgrade so inorder for my laptop to read more than 4GB+ i need to go to and install a 64bit, so i went ahead saved all stuff and noticed A BIOS update 07PA now i updated, all is well, then i went to REcovery for my initial install and it just goes into boot LOOP, and i cant even INSTALL a 64bit OS, so i Went and swap in my OLD RAM sticks (1GB+2GB default) and it went great nice clean install, but when i WEnt ahead and plug in the 4GB stick, it goes on boot loop, so I figured HUH, bad RAM, so i went and replaced it with a 4GB DDR3 10600 RAM, (cause the default sticks where 1GB 1333 and 2GB 10600 samsungs) ~ So i plugged in the new Ram and the same thing happens boot loop, (the animation screen wont even run) i tested the ram on other Laptops and all is good, tried 3 good sticks but still a no go, Pls. HELP!!~ maybe its the BIOS update that caused my COmp. to be Picky~

 

@ aswert666
This is an interesting problem.

Can you get into the BIOS (tap the F2 key a few times immediately after pressing the power button to start the computer)? If you can get into the BIOS then how much RAM does it show? If the BIOS is having problems recognising the RAM then the computer usually won't even get to the BIOS screen.

How are you getting into recovery? I would recommend using the built-in recovery (tap the F4 key a few times immediately after pressing the power button to start the computer) which should go straight to the factory image on the HDD. If that is getting stuck in the loop then I wonder if the recovery image is corrupted. If this happens then see here for getting a downloadable Windows 7 ISO file (get the version that matches the Windows key on your computer).

John

 

i can get to the BIOS with f2 with no problems, it recognizes the rams i put in it, but it wont boot to the OS, Windows animation just freezes, "but this is Just for 64bit OS with 32bit OS everything runs fine, ~ im currently using this laptop with the default RAMS in 64bit premium, ~ when i now go in "initial status" everything works now, cause im in 64bit too, ~ it just wont let me upgrade my RAMS~

 

It seems that Windows is struggling to configure itself for the extra RAM. I don't think it is a BIOS problem.

How much spare space do you have on the HDD? What happens if you disable virtual memory and hibernation (if enabled)? The default settings for these means the file sizes will increase if you add more RAM.

You could also try running MSconfig and then applying a RAM limit in the advanced boot settings. Will Windows start if you set this to 3072 (3GB) then put in the extra RAM then Windows should ignore more than 3GB. If that works then change the max RAM to 4096 (4GB), etc.

John

 

1st let me just say in the most EPIC way possible ~ YOU ARE AWESOME!!, finally it boots, tried asking all forums and they can't find any answers, even technicians are dumbfounded lolz~

ok, . . .
1.) How much spare space do you have on the HDD?
~ it's a newly formated/intalled system 9GB used only in 500GB space, only install firefox and WLan driver

2.) What happens if you disable virtual memory and hibernation (if enabled)?
~ i think i shrinked the hibernation mode i did " powercfg -h -size 50" (70% chance i forgot) or i disabled it with " powercfg -h off"

~ i disabled the Virtual Memory, then i did the MSCONFIG>BOOT>ADVANCED OPTIONS>MAX MEM. = did your 3072 (3GB) and shut it down, ~ popped the back and put in the Extra RAM (4GB) then , BOOM!! it worked, ~ now i have 6GB total ram and inside my 64bit OS, but the System it says "3.43GB Usable Ram"~ why can't i use all of it ?? (oh i changed it to 4096, in max mem.)~

~if i Enable my Virtual Memory and have the extra Memory (4GB) installed, it crashes at boot screen, not like it freezes like before, now it just crashes, so i disabled that, and now yay~

 

I'm a little unclear: Is the problem fixed or does Windows still crash once you let it see all the RAM? Ir is it fixed provided you disable the virtual memory? (A fixed 2GB virtual memory should be enough).

If you still have a problem then have you made sure you are up-to-date with software and drivers, including running Windows Update?

John

 

Sorry i posted the results i found earlier, got to excited booting it and it was past 2am hehe

ok after updating Mircosoft Updates and testing out some stuff i can definitely say that Virtual memory was not the cause for the crash so i enabled them again and its all good, see = Screen 1

~Now tnx sir John, I can put in the New Memory(4GB) and boot into the OS just fine now, teamed up with my default Ram memory(2GB), i now have a total 6GB Ram and they ran and booted just fine. (oh and if i Uncheck the Max Memory, with the 4GB+2GB still in, it will Crash)~ so the booting problem is solved with just checking the Max Memory. tnx for making it boot.

~ And now for the troublesome part, . . . the BIOS and the System basic information Sees/Acknowledges that i now have 6GB ram installed, but it can't use them fully, here is a screenshot = Screen 2

thats because the Max Memory is set to 4096 (4GB) see= Screen 3 ~ if i set this higher like 6144 (6GB amount of ram i have), the computer will Crash, same if i go and set it higher like 8192(8GB)~ so that's the current problem now,

 

I'm now wondering whether the problem is the memory that can be addressed by the HM 55 chipset and/or the CPU (depending on the CPU age - newer ones include the memory controller).

From what I can figure out, the HM55 may be able to address 8GB RAM but that may only be for desktops with 4 RAM slots. The BIOS is probably just reporting the RAM based on the SPD data (chips on the modules with capacity and timing data) but the BIOS won't try to use more than the first small part of RAM. Then Windows comes along and, unless it is given the RAM limit, it tries to address RAM beyond what the memory controller can address and then hangs.

That's my new theory. What CPU do you have? Samsung's web page for your model doesn't mention the CPU.

John

 

here is my Cpu-Z stats, i saved it in txt file and html file, here sir, ~ Txt & HTML ~

 

Thank you.

According to Intel the i5-480M should be able to address 8GB in 2 channels so that chucks out my theory about a memory controller limitation.

So perhaps Windows got corrupted during installation. I wonder if it is time to reinstall Windows in case something got corrupted. You can get the latest ISO file by following the links here.

John

 

hello sir John, Sorry, it took me a while to DL the file and install it, now im on the Win7 64bit home premium from the link, and i installed all the drivers (oh and what is HECI?,does that have something to do with it? just curious) ~ and i updated windows too, and still no luck sir, still the same problem,

 

Here's a description of HECI.

If a new installation of Windows still has a problem if the usable RAM is extended beyond 4GB then I have to wonder whether there is either an addressing limit in the version of CPU / chipset used or Samsung have put a RAM limit into the BIOS. If it is the latter, then I think that's the first time we've come across Samsung doing this.

The only other test I can suggest is to create a live 64 bit Linux CD (you can run Linux from the CD without affecting the HDD). If it also has a problem with more than 4GB RAM then run memtest which, unless it has changed, is a boot option on the Linux CD.

John

 

Sir John, tried the Ubuntu live CD, I burned them to CD and USB, then Tested the Disk (there is a test for CD there) and it was OK, then i Chose "Try Ubuntu w/o Installing, ~ then onto the Boot Loading (animation) it just Shuts down (oh i Have the 4GB memory installed during this process) ~ then i tried Memtest and it shows Error 1 then just Freezes then Turns off,

~found a post that is kinda, sorta, like mine, except i don't have the one that solved his bios problem,

here it is

 

Thanks for the nteresting link.

Do you have the shared memory setting in your BIOS (see post 43 of that discussion)?

John

 

no Sir John, their is nothing about memory sharing or about memory in there, all there is, is Hyperthreading , UEFI, Smart battery, PXE (not sure) , and USB wake, the rest are all default like boot priority and stuff,

 

Thanks for checking.

I have to conclude, since it is likely that your BIOS and the one in that other thread are likely to be very similar, that the reported bug has carried over and there is an addressing limitation in the BIOS. It's a bit annoying to have bought the 4GB RAM and being able to use only 1.43GB of it, but that leaves you as slightly better off than before.

John

 

tnx sir, john atleast yeah i got to boot a 64bit and i got to increase it to a 1gb, that's an upside i guess, can't i downgrade the bios?? i tried contacting support and all they want me to do is go to a samsung repair center,

 

We have a thread about downgrading the BIOS. See the post dated 14th February 2014 for a utility to help find the BIOS you want.

However, it's quite possible that the memory addressing limitation bug has been in the BIOS since original release.

John

 

hey how r u?? i have a problem with my samsung ativ 700t .... i got a bios update and since the bios is updated there is instability and i couldnt install drivers and all downloads r really slow while i got a fast connection .... is there a way to downgrade the bios to the way it was?? !!

 

See this thread.

John

 

can u run the swdate on usb and does it have to be bootable or normal thaanks

 

Hello fliplickandstick, welcome to NBR.

I think you are referring to the BIOS Updater utility, and whether that can be run from a USB drive. Both the Updater utility and the individual BIOS updates I have seen (for my NP700Z3A) are Windows EXE files. So you would need a Windows environment to run them. You may be able to run them from the Command Prompt of Windows Setup, I couldn't say.

Hopefully others with more experience in Samsung BIOS hacking have some input.

 

Hi!

I have Samsung Ativ Book 8 (NP880Z5E) and today I decided to update BIOS via SW Update from version to P05ADH. After downloading, SW update started CMD window in which I monitored progress and after completing boot block it went to main block. It completed erasing main block and then completely froze on updating main block at 79%. None of the keys or the mouse worked. After reading that BIOS update takes couple of minutes to complete I waited for an hour and the only solution I could find was disconnecting the battery and then pluging the laptop in and pressing the power button. For some users this worked and BIOS was recovered but unfortunately not for me. The power and battery lights turn on, but the screen stays black and nothing can be heard from the inside (no fan noise). Is the BIOS alone damaged or has it damaged the motherboard also and can something like BIOS recovery or anything be done or do I have to send it to Samsung?

I posted this in owner's thread also, so if this is a double post please delete one of the posts.

Thank you.

 

When things get that bad I refer people to the bricking thread.

If the various suggestions there don't bring your computer back to life then it's over to Samsung. The service center will most likely change the mainboard but I don't know whether the dead boards then go back to someone in Samsung who has the equipment to reflash the BIOS.

John

 

Hi,
I have the NP700G7C-S01 and got 3 wrong bios versions. Stock is P08AAB but it returned last night with a P07xxx that I closed too quickly and then after a few other tries P02RBU and then P08RBG. Both of these files were the wrong size as well. The laptops all seem to have the P**AAB.

I chatted with support, that also took over the notebook online, and it was determined that since SWUpdate no longer offers BiosUpdate that it is no longer supported and should not be used. Now this could apply to other models as well, so please be aware.

Also the first thread has a great point, do not upgrade to a bios that does not have your 3 letters in the name. Each true release only has the proper set of letters after the version number.

Edit; just ran the BiosUpdate.exe and got a P09QA as a updated version, 4 subsequent runs gave P08AAB, so again please be careful out there.

 

I have seen the BIOS Update program error happen once in the past (see PPS to the first post in this thread).

However, from what I've seen of a BIOS update in action is that the first thing that the BIOS installer program does is to check that the last three letters of the new BIOS matches the last three letters of the existing BIOS. If these don't match the the program won't continue.

John

 

The rep I was on with opened one up and it said press ok to continue, the 08RBG, I took the mouse over and closed it ASAP. I let the rep know I am not willing to risk my system but they are welcome to the files.

 

Hmmm... This may actually present an opportunity to gather BIOS files for a number of different models, for when members need to re-flash after semi-bricking. Next time I am at my Series 7, I'll see if it does the same.

 

I tried it over a dozen times today and all 08AAB versions returned. Did they fix it or was it just a fluke?

 

I doubt if Samsung changed anything. It just seems to be an erratic bug triggered, perhaps, by a certain alignment of the planets. Nonetheless it's an issue people should be aware of so I've added an extra warning at the start of this thread.

I wouldn't put any weight on the Samsung support advice that SW Update is no longer recommended. I suspect it's a question that isn't on their stand response scripts. In my experience BIOS Update.exe has never been offered by SW Update but can be downloaded from plenty of Samsung support pages. SW Update does its own check for BIOS updates and then tries to install them within SW Update (which is where the process has been known to fall over). I would also be worried that if, as is likely, SW Update includes the same BIOS check code then it might also occasionally be finding and trying to update with the wrong BIOS version (which could help to explain some of the bricking events).

John

 

At one point it was, I have a directory where I downloaded all the updates from SWUPDATE too, and only those files. This includes the biosupdate, it was though from the original SWUpdate installed in the system. I did this before installing the SSD as I knew I'd loose the original software.

Here was my original post from another thread 9/26/2012;

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sam...amd-radeon-hd-7970m-geforce-gtx-675m-130.html post 1295

And post 1314 where I had to download the SW update files;

Edit; I did at the time think it was a bit strange to include a bios update program by default that they only would want you to run if there were issues, but again this was a gaming system.

 

This is from 2 years ago, I also got 09QA too it seems to be for a different system.

What is samsung system bios update? Answered!

 

I just downloaded the BIOSUpdate.exe linked in John's opening post of this thread. It's version 1.0.0.3, which is also the newest I was able to locate anywhere on samsung.com. Still, it appears to be from Jan 2012 (based on the date stamps inside the EXE) so it's pretty old. I was unable to locate the BIOS updater with SW Update under any model, including my own.

And running BIOSUpdate on my NP700Z3A only offered the same BIOS version I already have (15FD) and not a smorgasbord of other BIOS' as, for a moment, I had hoped

 

Yeah, the updater is old. I don't think they offer it on the SWUpdate anymore for any model. If I remember correctly, and this is a stretch, at some point I thought to myself I no longer saw it on mine and was glad I already had it. By then though I already was up to 08AAB.

I no longer get any bios versions other than the stock as well, so either it was a fluke and/or the servers got fixed for whatever was running funky.

 

Hello there! few days ago i change my laptops Samsung R580 i3 motherboard, which one came with 06jb bios on board. Now am trying to update the bios to the latest version which i found in Samsung website 11jb. The problem is that i can't update it. Every time when am trying to run the .exe, it's give me a error message "loading driver failed" I tried with Windows 7 x32 and x64 and on Windows 8.1x64. Same result... what should i do? any suggestion? Thanks!

 

Hello!

Where can I find bios P11ABL or P12ABH or another earlier bios for NP530U4C-S08?

 

Hello!
Could someone help me on this ? The long story is to help the diagnose and to help more people with same dead end.

Here comes: After a Win8.0 upgrade to 8.1 my Samsung NP270e4e-kd2br insisted to stay on BluScr. I tryed all guides "Recover, etc,etc from Samsung Brazilian Suport, (Nothing). After days and days back and forward finaly I decided to replace the Win8.1 dead by Win7, formated everything and done. The Win7-ultimate system is fine and working but... There is no more way to access the Bios / UEFI menu on boot. All the F1, shift Fn, etc do nothing, more than that the system doesn't boot the Windows if there is no bootable CD on drive, even though you wont use it. I thought I've killed the BIOS module, is it? I've tried to load it again but couldn't. By the way the original Bios was Phoenix.

 

Hello ! People. I'm here again, very early, to say that I installed SwUpdate from Samsung, and updated my Bios and voila. Everything works fine again now, with windows 7 of course. The boot comes alive again. Rgds.

 

Samsung fudged a few things to make Windows 8 work on notebooks released with Windows 7 and it took several BIOS updates to get things working reasonably well. But they've not released any new BIOSes for those notebooks for about a year. However, not everyone wants to chance their luck with the BIOS updating due to the risk of ending up with a big paperweight (plus Samsung introduced an unfixed RAM-related bug in one of BIOS updates).

Now Microsoft are forcing those with Windows 8 to upgrade to 8.1 is introducing a new set of problems (you are not the first).

Perhaps we should blame Microsoft for this mess: The Windows updater should first ensure that the hardware is compatible and the BIOS is the latest before doing the update.

John

 

Hello everybody, I have a Samsung NP365E5C dead after change boot options. No video ouput, I dissambled and remove a BIOS SPI 25q32BVS1g, there is any way to flash directly the BIOS, because I download ITEM_20130801_11184_WIN_P07ABF.exe and extracted I found a file named BIOSEC.rom but is 4.12Mb and this SPI it's only 4mb or 32Mbits help me please.
Sorry for my bad english.

 

Read this thread which included some BIOS surgery with a successful outcome.

John

 

Thanks for your help, but I can't see any solution in this post because my laptop NP365E5C-S02UB is completely bricked, no video signal, I remove the CMOS battery for 2 days and nothing. On the board I found this serial, BOIS:VP067B45 3H315. What I can't understand yet is how to identify the BIOS version without seen nothing. Only I have Model.

 

Thanks. I understand your challenge because you don't know the BIOS version.

However, the internet contains an abundance of useful information for those prepared to spend a few minutes looking and, if this information is correct, then the NP365 BIOS is P**ABF, with one version being P05ABF dated 01/29/2013 (it may not be the newest, but never mind). The comment here suggests it is an AMI BIOS.

It takes a bit of effort to figure out the sequence number of P05ABF but by referring to the BIOS list in this post I can give you this link to P04ABF.

John

 

I really thanks for your time, searching the web found a BIOS named ITEM_20130801_11184_WIN_P07ABF.exe, when extrated I found inside a file BIOSEC.ROM but the only problem is that his size y over 4.32 mb and this SPI it's only 4Mb. This sizes don't match, I can't flash it with a programmer directly to the SPI Flash. My Lap it's full bricked, only turn on but nothing more. My best chance to recover is that anyone dump his BIOS with a same Laptop.

Greettings and thanks for your help.

 

Guys im really sorry im posting here but im new and i have barely any idea of how this forum works. But if anybody can help my i would be very happy

My problem is that i have an RV511 samsung Notebook with 2gb Ram. I decided to upgrade it so i went and buy a 4gb DDR3 Kingston 1333 ram and put it on the rv511. BLUE SCREEN! the weird thing is that i went to the store and they gave me a new one, still blue screen, I updated my bios, still Blue Screen, but if i put the 2gb It works perfect.

Again sorry for the post here and for my english.

Thanks for your understanding

 

Welcome. :hi2: You have an interesting problem and it's not one that occurs very often. the more common RAM problem is the Samsung notebooks not booting at all.

First question: Windows 7 or Windows 8? If Windows 8 then you may need to ensure that Windows is properly shut down becauses Windows effectively stores some configuration data to enable a faster boot. Next try booting Windows in safe mode.

If you have Windows 7 and get the BSOD then I interpret this as a driver problem because the BIOS recognises the RAM OK. However, it would be useful to check what RAM the BIOS thinks is on board. You can find this information by tapping the F2 key about twice per second immediately after pressing the power button to start the computer. If you are putting the 4GB alongside the 2GB then you should have 6GB total. Did you try the 4GB without the original 2GB module?

John

 

Most ads for the system RV-511 show a i3 with 4GB ram and Windows 7. So there are a few questions;

What CPU?
What original memory? (IE; 2x1GB ram sticks and what speed)
Are you just adding the 4GB stick, if so what is the end configuration of the ram?
What OS and bit version? (IE; Windows 7 home premium 64 bit)

 

I have a Samsung ATIV Book 4 15634 Laptop 8GB Memory 750GB and am in dire need of help, been dealing with this since updating to Windows 8.1 and updating bios.

I can't log onto mycomputer, everytime I try I get :
"All boot options are tried. Press F4 to recover with factory image using Recovernothing.
y other keys for next booboot loop iteration"

I've googled and came up with disabling secure boot and changing OS mode Selection from UEFIOS to CSM and UEFIOS. this worked once a few months back, and never again. I've tried to press F9 to restore optimized defaults, and still nothing.


The warranty on this JUST expired but even while under warranty Samsung was no help at all.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

So grateful to see a forum with people familiar with this issue.

Btw - f4 takes me to bios and NOT recovery

 

Windows 8 / 8.1 has caused Samsung users a few headaches.

Users have progressively identified various fixes. This recent thread contains the latest ideas, which are probably several steps ahead of whatever the Samsung support people read from their scripts. Read through it and see what might be most relevant to your problem.

John

 

I have a samsung NP905S3G

anybody has a bios dump?

Can anyone upload a working bios?