Samsung R70 SantaRosa T7100 (1.8GHz) 1GB 120GB DVDRW VistaPremium

Hello,

Not sure if anyone can help...

I've just purchased the above Notebook.

I installed/registered everything with it, without any problems.

A couple of hours later the unit just froze, so I switched it off.

Now the unit won't switch back on. The light comes on as if its attempting to power up, but nothing happens!

Has anyone experienced this - or does anyone know what the problem is?

The battery is fully charged, and I've also tried turning it on while its connected to the mains.

Thanks for any assistance.

 

Try disconnecting it from the mains and removing the battery and leaving it for an hour. Then replace and reconnect and try again.

Sometimes this type of problem can happen if the RAM has gone bad or is not seated properly. I've seem this happen - the light comes on but nothing else happens. If you want to try trouble-shooting then open up the RAM compartment (on the bottom - see the User Manual) and remove both modules. Then replace one and try to start the computer. If it boots OK, shut down then add the other module. If it doesn't boot, try the other module.

Or you can get onto Samsung technical support or the retailer. Getting a problem this quickly should entitle you to a replacement.

Let us know how you get on.

John

 

Thanks for the reply John.

I'll certainly try disconnecting the battery for an hour, however I don't really want to start opening up the RAM compartment of a 2 day old laptop!

Is this a common problem? This is my 1st Samsung notebook, and I'm starting to think I should have stuck with Sony

I think I'll see about returning it.....

Cheers.

 

No, it is not a common problem.

I recall someone, a few months back, hitting a problem with a new R20 from Comet. I can't recall the details but after a little time on the phone they were able to take it back and do a swap for a new one.

In general, Samsung notebooks are more reliable than most. The downside of this is that the technical support people are not used to agreeing there is something wrong and arranging repairs.

John

 

I've now spoken to Samsung Technical Support.

I've explained the issues with them, and they are classing the computer as "Dead on Arrival"

They are taking full responsibility as its only 2 days old.

They are telling me that I need to get in touch with the Retailer, and quote the reference number they've given me.

I've to return the unit to the retailer, and get a direct replacement which will be refunded by Samsung with the reference number I have.

The only problem is that I got this unit as an insurance claim when my old laptop was damaged. So I need to go through them who go through the retailer

 

A slightly tedious process, but it's going in the right direction. I hope it doesn't take too long. If everyone in the chain gets thier finger out you could be able to do a change-over with the courier tomorrow.

I won't be able to find out if my diagnosis of a RAM problem is correct.

John

 

"I won't be able to find out if my diagnosis of a RAM problem is correct"

Apologies for that, but I didn't want to have to start taking apart a brand new machine.

Would have given them ammo to suggest that me tampering with it could have led to it not working!

Thanks again.

Allan

 

I quite understand your caution.

Anyway, I hope the other people don't keep you waiting too long for the replacement and, thereafter, the R70 gives you no further problems.

John

 

I've been told that I'll receive a direct replacement tomorrow.

Hopefully this one will work!

I could actually check to see if the RAM theory work and then package it up, as I'm going to receive the new one, prior to them uplifiting the faulty one.

I'll let you know.

 

That's very tempting, but Samsung might get confused if you fix the problem and it then works when they get the computer back.

John

 

at least thats nice if you gonna get back your notebook tomorrow... or better to say to get the replacement of your notebook... i'm still waiting for my notebook to get back to me... lol...

but for my case... i didn't even contact my seller... i directly contact samsung n samsung directly process my query without me needed to go thru my seller... but thats after i scold them cause they ask me to call them using the expensive number...

I hope your new replacement with work without any problem...

hadi

*one day without computer give me really hard time*

 

I will use this thread, since it already have the same title I will use

I want to install XP onto this laptop, but I am not sure if I can get all drivers. For the chipset i've search intel page and they are there. For GFX I can use "latest beta" from nvidia, 160.03. Now the drivers I dont know where to find are:
- touchpad
- bluetooth
- sound card
- modem driver
- card reader driver

Are there perhaps any R70 users that have XP installed?

 

Did you look at SamsungPC.com? This has some differences to the global download site. And I see XP drivers on the R70 page. I think it has got all you need.

John

 

Oh my god!

Thank you very much!

 

Well I got my replacement R70 sent yesterday as I was promised, and shock horror, they delivered on time!

Everything seems fine so far.

Nice machine, I'm just dubious that I'll have problems again!

Thanks for the previous replies.

 

On another note, how easy is it to upgrade this machine from 1GB to 2GB?

 

Another question...how about booting from XP CD, will it work, or I will have to make a slipstream of XP and import the drivers?

 

From what I have seen, the R70 comes with 1 x 1GB module. Look under the memory cover on the bottom and you should see an empty slot. If so, you just need to buy another 1GB module. If both slots are occupied then you have to buy two 1GB modules and store what you received in case of a warranty claim.

You will need 200-pin SODIMM, DDR2 PC2-5300 RAM. This 1GB module from Crucial has very good pricing and, I believe, delivery is free.

If you have any doubts, CPU-Z will tell you all about your RAM. The memory tab summarises what is installed while the SPD tab will give the timing details for each module.

John

 

John,

Again thanks for the reply.

Sounds fairly straight forward.

To be honest I probably don't need to do it, just wanted to know.

What would upgrading realistically add to the performance of the machine?

I suspect that for what I use it for, its probably not worth my while...

 

Upgrading the RAM to 2GB (provided there is one slot empty) will be a good investment. Vista likes the best part of 1GB for itself and adding another 1GB will help everything run more smoothly, particularly if you like to have several applications open. Otherwise Vista will use the extra RAM to pre-load files which it thinks you may want to use.

At the moment RAM is cheap because there is a glut. I have read that the RAM manufacturers have cut back the production and we might soon see prices creep up again. It has happened before.

John

 

I'll definitely look into doing this then, seems a reasonable price and faster is always better! Would 4GB be the max it could take?

Well this machine has lasted 24hrs longer than the faulty unit I had, so far so good...very impressed!

Thanks again.

 

The computer can take 4GB but 32 bit Windows can't address much more than 3GB. If you are tempted to go to 3GB then you could buy a 2GB module now to put in the empty slot. These are the cheapest they have ever been (they were around £400 until February ) but that extra 1GB will still cost about another £50. The least expensive module that I know of in our part of the world is this Transcend 2GB from MemoryC. I got one a couple of months back when the price dropped to £100. It works OK in the X60 plus, Q35 and R20 and should work in the R70 (as should any similar 2GB module).

I think (hope) you were unlucky. I don't recall any other reports of R70 hardware problems. As I concluded previously, you got something which only went wrong when the computer got warmed up. Some suppliers will do a soak test which should pick up such problems (and this would get included in the cost somewhere) but most manufacturers do not.

John