Samsung NP700Z5C bootloop / bios setup not working

Hey guys, I'm in a mess with this notebook and I would be glad if anyone can help me, since I've searched everywhere for answers and can't seem to get around my problem.
Right after windows 8.1 update (it's been 3 weeks), I got stuck in a bootloop. Just after samsung logo shows up, there is a Windows 8.1 error message and it reboots all over again, a hundred times.

The thing is that this notebook will NEVER let me access BIOS settings. Nothing works on that. not F2, not F4, not F10 - nothing! I've tried opening the notebook and removing the hard drive as told by a forum user. This way I could manage to access Samsung Recovery, did a complete recover but just right after the bootloop comes back again.

I cannot boot from dvd or usb, looks like Samsung has completely locked up the boot proccess. I'm not very familiar to UEFI but looks like this is the answer. I just can't manage to boot from media or access the BIOS settings, so I could maybe format my hard drive and make a clean install...
Does anybody has any clue on this?
Thanks in advance.

 

Have you phoned Samsung support? By now they should have a standard script to read from for what to do about this problem. When I had a recent encounter with them there was advice to hold down a key (I think it was shift but might have been one of the others in the bottom left corner) when pressing the power button to make it easier to get into the BIOS. I don't remember all the details because the advice was mixed in with some other wrong info (such as holding down the battery disconnect switch would drain residual power for resetting the BIOS).

John

 

John, thanks for your advice but I've tried calling them in 3 different costumer centrals: US, Portugal (where I bought the device) and Brazil (where I currently live in) and they just won't help me out since my warranty is no longer valid. I've tried searching basically everywhere but I can't find a way out. I've heard about CMOS reset (envolves pushing some battery button while powering on) but the methods are still way confusing to me.

 

The CMOS reset procedure is:

(i) Turn computer off and disconnect the PSU
(ii) Disconnect the battery by poking a thin object (such as an unbent paper clip) through the battery disconnect hole in the base (you should hear a small click).
(iii) Hold down the power button for a minute

Then reconnect the PSU and try starting the computer. If that makes no difference then repeat (i) and (ii) then remove the base and disconnect the coin-shaped backup battery before doing step (iii).

And if that doesn't work then it's the disconnect the HDD procedure to try to kill the boot loop.

If you can then get into Windows the alternative route to the BIOS setup is via Charms (that pop-up bar on the right) > Change PC Settings > General > Advanced Startup. There's at least one option there (change boot order IIRC) that will take you straight into the BIOS setup when the computer restarts.

Did your Z5C originally come with Windows 7 (no UEFI) or Windows 8? Have you recently checked for a new BIOS (I recommend the standalone BIOS update program (link in 1st post in this thread). Samsung issued a new BIOS for my Win 8 X4C a couple of weeks ago, presumably for better 8.1 compatibility (but it introduced some new headaches).

John

 

My Z5C came with win8, and that's basically the main issue I'm having. I have a lot of expertise on computers, but since I chose to follow another career my knowledge base got outdated. Never heard of UEFI and didn't know what to do at first, actually the idea of not being able to access your BIOS setup seems pretty stupid to me, as much as it may improve boot speed. But thanks to people like you I'm starting to dig in the subject.
Funny thing is Samsung KNOWS (real real caps) the issue (they told me on the phone) and still keeps pushing 8.1 updates to everyone. That's outrageous.

John, thank you so much for the detailed explanation. I'll try that today when I get home and soon I'll post the results here.

 

I realize this is an old thread, but I ran into this same issue and was able to solve it. The problem is related to the Bios. These series of Samsung computers MUST MUST MUST have the BIOS updated BEFORE doing the upgrade to 8.1. It can be done through the Samsung Software Application. I would just do all of them. I had this application disabled because it was a resource hog and thus did not know that there was a critical BIOS update available. The Windows Update program does not show that it's available.

If you already did the upgrade without updating the BIOS, you will get this endless bootloop where you cannot enter the BIOS setup, advanced options, or anything else for that matter. You also cannot boot from CD. I was able to open the computer to remove the hard drive which allowed me to access the BIOS settings after booting with no drive attached. I changed the boot order to boot from CD, but it would simply revert back once I hooked the hard drive back up. On a whim, I tried disconnected the hard drive and using a SATA to USB adapter to see if it would allow me to change the boot order. Success!!! I was able to access the advanced options and do a system restore, but it took several boot attempts to access these options. However, YOU MUST DO A FULL RESTORE, NOT A REPAIR! Since I tried the repair option, it failed again, and my previous solution gave me the same problem. Thankfully I had a Best Buy protection plan on it and they were able to fix it. They had to replace the motherboard and hard drive to get it back up and running.

Steps I followed:

- Turn off, on plug, and disconnect the computer from the battery. This can be done by sticking a paperclip into the battery disconnect button on the bottom of the laptop.

- Remove the hard drive.

- If needed, connect your hard drive to another computer as a secondary drive to back up any data you need to retrieve (You will need to run "My Computer" as administrator to access anything in "My Documents." This can be done by right clicking on the shortcut and hitting "run as administrator") Otherwise, various computer shops can do this for you.

- Attempt to boot the machine without the hard drive connected. This will essentially reset the boot up process so that it won't just automatically go back through the same boot loop right away. You will get a black screen with an error message, this is fine.

- Shut the computer back down.

- Plug the hard drive in to USB using a SATA to USB adapter (available at most electronics stores including Best Buy and Radio Shack)

- Attempt to boot the machine and access the advanced options. You may need to do it quickly. As I recall it took about 10 -15 times before I was able to access it. Each time in between I had to disconnect the the drive and boot again to reset.

- Once in the advanced options, do a FULL SYSTEM RESTORE,

- Do NOT do a repair. This will bring right back to square one and you will need to have your computer serviced

- From reading other forums, it looks like if you do a full restore it will completely reset everything and you will get your machine back up and running; however you will lose your data unless you can back it up.

I understand this is a frustrating problem as it was for me, so hopefully this helps.

 

This thread is really old, but I would apreciate any help.
Step 4 does nothing for me, It's just the same bootloop with no error ...

 

Are you referring to the step of booting without the HDD connected? That should trigger a BIOS error.

Or have you left a USB storage device connected? If so, remove it.

John

 

How about you try this tutorial instead.... :