Samsung R700 (17" widescreen)

I would also try reinstalling the Realtek audio driver.

If that doesn't fix it then talk to Samsung tech support. If it is as new as you indicate, they may well consider it DoA (Dead on Arrival) and arrange a replacement.

John

 

Thanks, i'll try that, if i can't change it in the settings.

The trouble is, maybe that's its max...and i just had a previous notebook that was a lot louder.

cheers,

Julian

 

Does anybody know if this laptop has MMX graphics? Have someone tried to replace the graphics or CPU on this laptop?

 

I don't know if the GPU is interchangeable, but the R700 is available in Germany with a T9300 CPU and the 8600M GT GPU. Better specs (and higher price) than any of the UK R700s.

John

 

My R700 does not show that SP1 is installed, but the Microsoft Vista Update site says that the SP1 update is not offered unless the computer is ready for it. It then gives a long list of fairly imcomprehensible and difficult to check reasons why this could be so. Does anyone know which fix needs to be done to persuade the Microsoft Update Center to offer SP1, and/or has anyone had any problems with forcing an SP1 upgrade?

These Network drivers that are mentioned above - why do I need them and exactly which ones are they?

 

I have switched the Toggle Keys feature on, but the computer doesn't make any sounds when I press the Caps Lock or Num Lock keys. Is this a fault common to all R700s, or is it just mine?

 

Vista SP1 may not be showing up because some other patch which enables it to show hasn't been installed. The best approach is to download and install the standalone SP1. This is a more reliable approach than the Windows Update which only downloads the parts it think it needs.

I've never had sounds when using keys such as caps lock (and I wouldn't want them). You can check under the sound options in control Panel. There should be an indicator light.

John

 

Hello,

I bought few days ago samsung r700. I don't have any cd's and dvd's and I want to recover my vista, becouse xp isn't great. When i install xp I can't turn on my vista. How can i do that ? Which key i must press on to recover my first os (vista).

sorry for my bad english.

Thanks a lot!

 

If there is a recovery partition then try pressing the F4 button on bootup. If that doesn't work then try the other function keys.

John

 

Hey all, just signed up.

Would like to thank everyone who has posted in this thread as it helped me make the decision to buy the R700. Much appreciated!

Anyhow, the reason I'm posting is, i'm wondering if anyone else has had a problem relating to the external microphone jack. The internal mic works fine, but I can't get the external jack to function with a headset mic plugged in.

Tried looking around on these forums and others for a solution but yet to find one. Do I have to disable the internal mic in BIOS or something? (haven't actually tried that yet, unsure if I even can)

Any help is appreciated.

-Brad.

 

I don't think you need to go into the BIOS. Try these steps (which are from the R710 manual):

1. Connect a microphone to the microphone jack

2. Right click on the Volume icon on the taskbar and select recording devices

3. Check if the microphone is set as the default recording device. Note that the computer may consider the external microphone to be "line in", so select that.

Or, if it Realtek audio and you have the Realtek Sound Manager software (either right click on the volume control icon or select in control panel) then go to the Microphone tab then click on Device Advanced Settings in the top right corner. Try tying up the input jacks option.

John

 

I don't have an option for "Line In", there is only "Microphone"(set as Default) and "Stereo Mix" (disabled)

As far as Realtek Sound Manager, I don't have any program like that on the computer. Perhaps there is software for the Realtek card on the cd's that came with the computer. I'll have a look.

Thanks
-Brad

** EDIT **

Looked at the cds and they are your basic restore cds, can't find any software on there for Realtek sound management.

 

You could try the latest sound driver from the Samsung download site.

Did you try all the options in the audio device properties? I'm not on a Samsung notebook but one of the options brings up a window with "show the following volume controls". Perhaps Line In is listed but not selected.

Otherwise we will have to hope an R700 owner passes by.

John

 

The latest driver they have listed is the one that shipped with my laptop.

Is there a software program from realtek I can install to manipulate my audio devices?

-Brad

 

Hi, just joined the forum .. thinking of buying an R700 but heard there had been problems with Nvidia GeForce 8400M graphics cards in notebooks recently ?

This is spec im looking at
Samsung R700 Laptop Santa Rosa Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 2048MB 250GB DVD-SM 17" Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS 128MB Vista Home Premium

Can anybody tell me if graphics card problem(s) has now been resolved and this is now a safe buy in this respect, please ?

thanks

 

You can read all about the nVidia problem here.

However, so far, I have not seen reports of problems with nVidia GPUs in the Samsung notebooks. Samsung have traditionally provided generous cooling systems and this has had the by-product of not creating the right conditions to incubate the nVidia eggs.

You have the fall-back position of being able to buy and register an extended warranty for a Samsung notebook at any time during the first year.

John

 

I have a Samsung R700 and I have not had any issue with the nVidia Graphics Card whatsoever.

 

Hi all

I'm a total novice so sorry in advance if this is a totally lame question.

I'm looking for a laptop for approx £600 that will game a bit (ideally COD4) and surf the net etc
The R700 Samsung seems pretty good but there are 2 specs for it and I've no idea which would be best please help

as07uk T5750 2.0ghz cpu with 8600gt GPU
As01uk T8100 2.1ghz cpu with 8400gt GPu


Is the R700 the best buy for £600 or is there a better buy at the moment and if so what is it????


Thanks in advance
Mik

 

I just bought this laptop and it seems good so far.

Is there any way to reset it to factory settings? It came with a DVD to install Vista, and a second DVD to install all the Samsung drivers etc, but doing that does not leave it the way it was delivered to me, because you have to log in to Windows to be able to run the drivers on the second disk.

When I first turned the laptop on and entered my name etc it created a backup call "My computer first birthday" onto the hidden EISA partition, but if I restore that I a already logged into Windows

Thanks

 

IIRC it is a matter of pressing a Fn key (F6 comes to mind) at the BIOS screen in order to bring up the menu for restoring the image from the recovery partition.

John

 

Thanks John, as far as I can tell pressing F4 loads the Samsung Recovery util from the BIOS, as you suggest, but the only image it offers to restore is the one that was created after I had logged in to Windows - Samsung calls it the laptop's 'birthday' image. There isn't room on the EISA partition (only 10gb) to store that image and another 'factory' image, so I don't think there is a 'factory' image available.

It doesn't really matter, I was just wondering for future reference.

 

I would have thought that 10GB might be enough space to hold two compressed images.

I suggest that you try the other Fn keys while the BIOS screen is displayed. F7 is mentioned in another thread. It may get you to the original factory image. I'm a few thousand miles away from a Samsung recovery solution manual.

John

 

Thanks for the reply. I tried F7 but Windows loaded up. I did check the Samsung guides but they only refer to restoring the 'birthday' image, not factory settings. Doesn't matter, I was just wondering really.

 

Hi,

I've had the R700 for a few months and generally been impressed with the computer. Recently though a recurring problem has arisen and due to my lack of computer knowledge (and pressure from a frustrated girlfriend who expects me to be able to fix said problem) I was hoping you may be able to help, as your past advice has been pretty **** impressive!?!

The issue is with the computer switching itself into standby/sleep mode randomly for no apparent reason. This can be when it's first powered on, or after use of anything from 15 mins to an hour or so, and once it happens once it can repeatedly switch into sleep - v annoying! When this happens the screen cuts out, all the lights flicker on the little panel for a while with the hard drive (i think) whirring, then it goes to standby and can be switched back on after a few seconds to the previous screen content. I have tried looking at the sleep settings and power save settings, but these appear to be in order? I have tried removing the battery, as run connected to the mains the majority of the time, but still doing it. Could it be something over-heating, as the laptop rests on a table top with a table cloth beneath - is this likely?

Should I try re-booting/loading the computer (I run it on Vista, which I know very little about), if so what is the best approach to doing this, as not that computer literate and worried i'll wipe all the images/data stored on the computer? I have an external hard drive, can I/shhould I save a back-up or similar to this?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated, and help improve relations with my girlfriend no end!

Thanks

John

 

I've tried re-loading Vista, and I still have the same problem. The computer switched into sleep mode three times while I switched it on and loaded this page! Any ideas?

 

Sorry about not picking up your previous post. I was offline for several days at the time you posted (work sometimes gets in the way).

You can also check the temperatures (in Vista) using HWMonitor.

Did you install the latest BIOS?

If you have reinstalled Vista then it is difficult to blame Vista (but was that a clean reinstallation?). BIOS / hardware might therefore be the cause. Can you get / make a Linux Live CD (get the 8.10 Ubuntu) and boot from it and see if everything stays running for an hour or two? If this shows the same shutdown problem then we know Vista is not to blame.

John

 

Hi folks,

Has anyone had one of these open? I will be replacing the keyboard in an R700 in a couple of days but I dont have much experience with Samsung laptops. Any advice welcome.

 

Hi all..

I need case opening info and / or a service manual as well....

Just got an NP-R700 and on second boot up I got gibberish on the display.

Just get a multi coloured mosaic upon powering up and that's it...

Same on VGA and HDMI before you ask.

Looks like the famous Nvidia Geforce Go (chocolate edition) has struck again :/

On another note is there anywhere in the UK where I can source reasonably priced MXM cards to replace this useless one?

 

Keyboard removal is usually easy. Remove the screws marked "K" or "KBD" on the bottom and then release the catches around the edge of the keyboard.

Yes, that's classic nVidia GPU symptoms. Have you been giving it some hard work to do? And, I presume, just after the warranty has expired. Samsung have not, to my knowledge, publicly acknowledged the nVidia GPU problem and done any out-of-warranty repairs but, under European consumer legislation, you could expect them to fix this latent defect.

I can't help on the disassembly but you start by removing all the screws on the bottom and then trying to unclip the seams. I recently tried to get an R20 apart and failed.

John

 

Hi!

I have a slight problem with my Samsung R700 17" widey. I didn't notice it when i was buying it, but when i wanted to open it to clean it from dust, i absolutely had no idea how to open it. Anyhow, can someone point out a few tips how to do it without going nuts or doing other sorts of things i might regret later?

 

Getting into the Samsung notebooks can be a bit of a challenge and there are no freely available service manuals.

Two potential access routes to the CPU area are (i) the cover over the RAM and (ii) under the keyboard which is easy to remove. One of those may enable you to get a can of compressed air with a pipe blowing towards the fan and heatsink. You can also blow air at the heatsink from the outside which might clear some dirt - leave the RAM slot cover open when you do this.

John

 

Hi, sorry to dig up dead thread but I just got this laptop 8600m GT version, it's great, runs LEft for Dead niiiice

I am looking for a BIOS version, anything pre 08sr, if anyone has this kicking about anywhere can they please let me have a copy? I've been trawling the internet and can't find a copy, though someone offered to sell me a modded one for $25, which makes me a bit nervous..

Thanks
Josh